


Accidentally In Love

by katling



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Background Sera/Dagna - Freeform, Blow Jobs, Feelings, Frottage, Getting Together, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Misunderstandings, OT3, Semi-Public Sex, Sexual Content, background cassandra/lace harding, background female lavellan/solas - Freeform, blackwall has mother hen tendencies, maybe ot4 - Freeform, varric has enough on his plate, waking up in compromising positions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-07-23 13:34:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7465383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katling/pseuds/katling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two parts of this are in my <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3523040">Inquisition Allsorts collection</a> but I decided to move it out on its own due to it's... interesting nature. So the first two chapters have already been published in the collection and chapter 3 onwards are new.</p>
<p>This came from the following prompt: "I wish you would write a story where Varric, Dorian, Blackwall and Cullen wake up, naked, in bed together, suffering monstrous hangovers, and no one has any ideas what happened last night. Sera comes in and cackles at them. Vivienne is not speaking to any of them. The Inquisitor is in the infirmary sleeping off a concussion from where zie fell of zir chair laughing and hit zir head. Iron Bull and Cole are confused. Punchline is up to you."</p>
<p>I gave the greatest whoop of laughter when I read this then I smeared light angst all over it. I also began the weirdest OT3 (possibly OT4 depending on which way Varric goes) I've ever written.</p>
<p>So, yeah, I think the prompt sums it up pretty well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note: The chapter title for this was 'What Happened Last Night'.

Cullen slowly began to swim back towards consciousness and immediately wished he hadn’t. His head hurt in a way that it hadn’t since the very earliest days of his withdrawal from lyrium and since he knew that he hadn’t started taking lyrium again and then stopped, he had to hark back to his days as a trainee and that really ill-advised trip to the local village inn to find some sort of explanation for it. Either that or he’d been hit on the head by something. 

As he tried to decide whether he should attempt to open his eyes or just give it all up as a bad idea and try and sleep again, he became aware that he was not alone. He was _really_ not alone. There was someone snuggled up in his arms, curled up against his chest, breathing softly into his neck. There was also someone plastered against his back, someone who was hairy and snoring lightly. And that there was a heavy weight on his legs that also seemed to be snoring.

He also became aware that he was very, very naked.

That was enough to make the idea of opening his eyes a great deal more attractive, though the light streaming in from the hole in the roof made him groan. He peered upwards and saw that the hole was very familiar so they were in his room. He then looked down and saw… Dorian. A very naked Dorian who was snuggled in against his front. A glance over his shoulder told him that the naked hairy body pressed up against his back was _Blackwall_ of all people. And the person weighting down his legs was an equally naked Varric.

Somehow he managed to not panic. Somehow he managed to lie very still and not shout. Both things his head would undoubtedly appreciate. Instead he wracked his brains, trying to figure how he had ended up naked in bed with Dorian, Blackwall and Varric.

As he was doing that, Dorian started to moving, groaning piteously and shifting against him in a way that might have embarrassed him severely if he were any less hungover. He knew the moment Dorian actually woke up enough to realise where he was when the man went very, very still then slowly raised his head. 

Dorian looked as mortified and as mystified as Cullen felt. Which was something of a relief because he’d had a moment to think that this might be some sort of elaborate practical joke. He wasn’t entirely ruling that possibility out but he was now at least reasonably sure that Dorian had no part in it.

“Well,” Dorian murmured and both he and Cullen winced even at that low tone. Dorian soldiered on anyway. “This is terribly pleasant and all but I don’t suppose you know…?”

“No,” Cullen said then he frowned. “This is… you mean…?” He winced at the querulous note in his own voice and gave up attempting to speak for the moment.

“I can’t say I haven’t thought about this,” Dorian admitted, his cheeks pink but a look of determination on his face anyway.

Before Cullen could reply, there was a low groan from the heavy weight on his legs. “Can you two save the declarations of adoration for some other time? My head is going to explode.”

Dorian’s eyes widened almost comically then he winced. He drew in a breath then raised his head just enough to look around before lowering it again and resting his forehead against Cullen’s chest.

“Why are we in bed with Varric and Blackwall?” he asked, his voice a little muffled. “Naked.”

Cullen and Varric were saved from any immediate replies by a low stream of pained cursing from the last occupant of the bed that stopped abruptly as the man became aware of where he was, who he was cuddled up to and his current state of attire. Or lack of attire as the case may be.

“Right,” came the somewhat strangled comment from Blackwall.

A hand waving from the bottom of the bed got their attention. Varric hadn’t yet moved other than the waving hand. “Does anyone remember _anything_ about last night?”

“No,” Cullen said. “The last thing I remember is Cassandra dragging me over to the Herald’s Rest to have dinner with her.”

“I don’t even remember leaving the barn,” Blackwall rumbled. 

Cullen couldn’t help but notice the man hadn’t shifted from where he was pressed tight against his back and he wasn’t sure if he should mention that or not. He eventually decided not to. In fact, he decided it would be a good idea not to think about it at all. Blackwall was a warm, broad and strangely comforting presence against his back right now.

“I remember going to the tavern but not until it was very late,” Dorian added. He didn’t seem inclined to move either.

“And I remember you and the Seeker coming in, Curly, but not much after that,” Varric concluded.

“Right,” Cullen said then he decided to ask the question that was the obvious druffalo in the room. “Did we…?”

A somewhat awkward silence settled over them all as they pondered that question. Finally Dorian cleared his throat.

“Well, speaking as someone with experience in these matters, I certainly don’t _feel_ like we did… anything.”

There were some awkward mutterings and grunts of agreement with that and Cullen felt relieved. Not because the idea that something had happened was an unpleasant one, just because he couldn’t remember. Then he had to pause while he readjusted his worldview because he apparently wasn’t terribly perturbed by the idea he might have had sex with a man… or possibly more than one. It was… an adjustment.

Another awkward silence fell in the room and Cullen got the impression he wasn’t the only one making that mental adjustment. He also got the impression he wasn’t the only one studiously avoiding mentioning the fact that none of them were moving.

A wild whooping cackle made them all jump and then wince and groan then they looked up to see Sera peering in through the hole in the roof at them. Her face was alight with an almost unholy amount of glee.

“Andraste’s arse!” she bellowed, making the four men cringe. “Four arses! Hah!”

She disappeared again, leaving a shattered silence in her wake. 

“Well, I…” Cullen cleared his throat. “I suppose we should, um… get up.”

“Gonna have to face the music sometime,” Varric groaned. “Maker’s balls, I think my head is going to explode.”

“If we’re going to get up, you’re going to have to move first, Varric,” Dorian said, a faint line of regret in his voice that Cullen wasn’t sure what to make of. 

Varric groaned and grumbled before finally rolling off their legs. “Don’t sleep on other people’s legs, kids,” he said owlishly as he stood at the end of the bed, looking around and scratching his chest. “It’s murder on your back.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Dorian said. He grimaced as he reluctantly pulled away. Cullen was equally reluctant to let him go and they exchanged a shy glance before the mage crawled out of the bed.

Cullen found himself just as reluctant to pull away from the solid warmth against his back and when he forced himself to move, the arm Blackwall had slung over his waist tightened just a fraction before being removed. He decided not to think about that too much as he climbed out of bed and started looking around for his clothes.

They dressed in a strange silence and one by one made their way down to Cullen’s office. They emerged onto the walkway that lead to the main building, all of them wincing and cursing at the light. When they got back inside, it was to find Solas was not in his usual place and further on, Vivienne was standing on her balcony overlooking the hall. When she caught sight of them, the glare she levelled at them was stern and pointed then she turned away in obvious disdain.

“Right,” Varric muttered. “What say we adjourn to the tavern and see if Tiny can tell us what happened?”

The others agreed and they made their way gingerly back out into the sun and over to the tavern. The dim light inside was a relief though the smell of stale ale turned their stomachs. They crept over to where Bull was lounging and were not at all comforted when he gave them a look of confusion.

“What did you lot do last night?”

The four of them exchanged looks. “What do you mean?” Dorian asked carefully. “We were rather hoping you could tell us.”

Bull shrugged. “No idea. That cute little red-haired maid gave me the eye so I headed upstairs and the boys apparently took off not along afterwards. Came down this morning to find out the Boss was in with the healers.”

“What!” Cullen yelped then he winced and pressed one hand against his head. “What happened?” he said in a much quieter tone.

“Concussion,” Bull said succinctly, looking amused at the hangdog mannerisms. “She fell off a chair or something.”

“I don’t suppose you can tell us what we were doing _before_ the maid lured you upstairs?” Varric said dryly.

“Drinking with the Boss,” Bull said, now looking openly amused. “You don’t remember?”

“No such luck,” Varric replied. “Were we doing anything else other than drinking?”

“Seemed to be a few tall tales being told,” Bull said. He looked curious as well as amused now. “Why?”

The four of them exchanged glances. “Nevermind,” Varric said.

“Warm and safe, solid and secure. Why would it be wrong?”

Only experience kept them from jumping at Cole’s sudden appearance and they were all a bit relieved about that, given the state of their heads. This time however, they all very firmly kept their eyes off each other as Cole’s words raised thoughts none of them really wanted to address.

“Kid,” Varric said very gently. “Now really isn’t the time.”

“Okay,” Cole said, still looking confused. “But it’s really alright, Varric. They want it too.”

The atmosphere became suddenly very strained and awkward and Cullen cleared his throat.

“Cassandra,” he said, sounding slightly strangled. “She… she might know.”

Bull chuckled, eyeing them all with interest. “She was still there when I left and I heard she’s the one who carried the Boss to the healers.”

Cullen turned on his heel and led the way out of the tavern. Cassandra was where she spent most of her time, practicing against the dummies, but she stopped and straightened when they approached. Cullen noticed she was looking at them with faint disapproval and… was that very restrained amusement?

“Cullen,” she said with a small nod. “Blackwall. Dorian.” She hesitated for a moment then said dryly, “Varric.”

“Cassandra…” Cullen trailed off, not quite sure how to ask about what happened the previous night. “I… the Inquisitor?”

“Will be fine,” Cassandra said with an exasperated sigh.

“What… happened to her?” Cullen asked tentatively.

Cassandra frowned. “You don’t remember?”

Cullen winced. “I don’t remember much about last night at all.”

He wasn’t mistaken. That was _definitely_ very restrained amusement that was gleaming in Cassandra’s eyes. She looked at the others and the amusement became less restrained and more obvious as she realised that _none_ of them remembered what had happened.

“She fell off her chair,” Cassandra said. “She was very drunk and lost control while she was laughing and she fell off and struck her head on another chair.”

Dorian came up beside Cullen, looking slightly dyspeptic. Cullen couldn’t tell if it was the hangover or the news causing that expression.

“I don’t suppose you’d care tell us _what_ she was laughing at, my dearest Cassandra?”

Cassandra laughed then. Actually _laughed_ and shook her head at them. “I think you already know, Dorian. She was laughing at you four. You were having what she described as a ‘pity party’. She suggested that if you were all so lonely, you should shuffle off to bed together and then started laughing at the looks on your faces. That was when she fell off her chair and I took her to the healers. When I got back, you were all gone.”

She stopped then and stared at the four of them and the expressions on their faces now. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

“You mean…?”

Cullen groaned and covered his face with one hand. Now that she had described what had happened, a few rather vague memories flitted across his mind.

“Thank you, Seeker,” Varric said through gritted teeth. He looked up at the others. “Let’s… go.”

By unspoken agreement, they headed straight back to Cullen’s office, leaving a chortling Cassandra behind. Once inside the room, Cullen moved around and firmly closed and locked the doors. He was in no mood to deal with the runners and scouts today.

“Right. So,” Dorian said, looking very nonplussed. “We were clearly very drunk and bemoaning our non-existent love lives for some reason and on the equally drunken suggestion of the Inquisitor, we decided to…”

“Hop into bed together,” Varric finished for him.

“Just as well the Inquisitor didn’t suggest that we leap off the battlements into a snow bank,” Blackwall rumbled. “Sounds like we might have done precisely that.”

Cullen rubbed his face with one hand. “Why does this sound like something Sera had a hand in?”

“Because she clearly wasn’t surprised to find us all naked in bed together?” Varric suggested dryly.

“Right,” Cullen replied. He leaned against his desk, still rubbing his forehead. He wasn’t sure he really wanted to think too hard about what had happened. Drunk or not, he’d slept better the previous night than he could remember since… well, since before Kinloch happened. And he’d tried a few times to use drink to keep the nightmares away. It had never worked. But last night… well, if he remembered anything about it, it was that he’d felt safe and warm and secure.

“So what do we do now?” Dorian asked in an uncharacteristically hesitant voice. “Forget it ever happened?”

“That’s… probably the wisest course of action,” Blackwall said rather stiffly.

“Uh, yeah,” Varric added, sounding reluctant. “You’re… probably right.”

Cullen nodded though he couldn’t bring himself to look at the others. He knew he wasn’t that good at keeping his expression neutral and he didn’t want the others to see how much he really disliked that idea.

“Of course,” Dorian said in a small, defeated voice that Cullen _hated_. “I’ll just… go then.”

Before anyone could say anything, Dorian had unlocked one of the doors and disappeared through it. Blackwall and Varric stood there awkwardly for a moment then they too left. Cullen leaned against his desk and rubbed at his chest. It felt sore and he didn’t want to examine why right now. Instead he turned to the piles of work on his desk and tried not to think about how cold and empty his bed would be tonight.


	2. Out Of Sorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, this gets a bit NSFW towards the end. Secondly, in this part, Cullen is out of sorts, the Inquisitor meddles because she’s so done with all four of them, Varric makes a decision, Dorian panics and Cullen and Blackwall come to an understanding of sorts.

Cullen had been feeling out of sorts for days. He knew it, Leliana and Josephine knew it, everyone who’d come into contact with him knew it. He’d been feeling out of sorts ever since that morning, the morning he’d woken up feeling warm and safe and surrounded by the last people he’d ever expected to find himself naked in a bed with. He’d been doing his best to put it out of his mind but from the looks he’d been getting from any number of people, he hadn’t been succeeding very well.

Cassandra had been giving him some intent looks, all narrowed eyes and speculation, and as a result he’d been going out of his way to avoid her. Avoiding Blackwall, Dorian and Varric was a far easier task given Lavellan had taken all three with her on her trip to Emprise du Lyon. He wasn’t exactly sure why. They weren’t her usual team and from the few times he’d seen Solas on his rare trips into the main building, the elven mage was feeling fairly disgruntled about being left behind. Cullen would sympathise but that would require examining his feelings and that was something he still hadn’t quite had the courage to do.

When Cassandra walked into his office late that evening with the air of a woman storming the ramparts, he would have cringed but he’d known this was inevitable. Cassandra wasn’t really one to leave well enough alone. So he sighed and nodded to her as she thumped a bottle of wine down on his desk then went from door to door, closing and locking them. He got up and found a couple of goblets that were sitting on one of the shelves then poured the wine. Cassandra came back and took the goblet that was offered to her. She sat down opposite him and for a while they simply sat there and drank their wine.

“So,” she finally said.

“So,” he replied, his tone neutral and unhelpful.

She looked unimpressed. “So. Dorian and Blackwall and… Varric.”

He noted her slight hesitation from saying Varric’s name but ignored it in favour of slumping down in his chair and staring at the wine in his goblet.

“What about them?”

“You slept with them.”

He choked a little on his wine. “No!” He sighed. “I… we _slept_. We didn’t do anything else.”

“Did you want to?” 

Cullen slumped a little further and finished the wine in his goblet. He poured some more and held the bottle out to Cassandra. She shook her head and he put the bottle back on his desk.

“What does it matter?” he said, when it became obvious Cassandra was waiting for an answer.

“You have been acting like a bear with a sore head ever since that day,” Cassandra said archly. “So I think it matters a great deal.”

“Well, it _doesn’t_ ,” Cullen snapped. “It doesn’t matter what I want because none of them want it.”

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. “But if they did, would you want it?”

Cullen sighed and took a drink. “I haven’t thought about it.” At her sceptical look, he gave a huff. “I _haven’t_. There’s no point. They made their feelings quite plain that day.” He ran a hand down his face. “I’ll… get over it.”

Cassandra gave him a long look then sighed and picked up the bottle and refilled her goblet. No more words were said and when they finished the bottle, Cassandra left and Cullen looked at his paperwork then shook his head and climbed up the ladder to get some sleep in his cold empty bed.

When the Inquisitor and her party returned three weeks later, Cullen was hard at work. Work had become his haven in the time the Inquisitor had been away as unfortunately he had not yet found a way to ‘get over it’. Burying himself in paperwork had become something of a panacea. Not one that worked very well but it was enough.

The first he knew of the Inquisitor’s return was the summons to the War Room and he did his best to gather his composure so that he wouldn’t growl at any of them. Thankfully all Lavellan wanted to talk about was the Emprise and what was going on there and he was able to concentrate on that successfully enough. It was only at the end of the meeting, as he leaned over the map and reorganised a few of his troop markers, that he realised that Leliana and Josephine had left but Lavellan was still there. 

He looked with surprise. “Inquisitor?”

“Look…” She sighed. “I’m not really one to interfere with other people’s personal lives but whatever is going on between you and Dorian and Blackwall and Varric needs to be sorted out. The sooner, the better.”

With that she turned on one heel and walked out of the room. Cullen watched her go then leaned against the table and let his head drop. He should have known this wasn’t going to be easy. When had anything in his life _ever_ been easy. He sighed and finished what he needed to do and then made his way back to his office. Lavellan might want him to sort this out but he honestly had no idea how to even _begin_ doing so.

Despite that, he was somehow unsurprised to find Blackwall, Dorian and Varric in his office when he got back there. No doubt Lavellan had had some _words_ with them as well. He stared at them for a moment then closed the door behind him and walked over to his desk. He didn’t bother to lock the doors. He was fairly confident that no one was going to interrupt them now that the Inquisitor had gotten involved.

“Look,” Varric said, breaking the silence in the room. “As fun as it was to wake up in one of the more compromising positions I’ve ever been in, I…” He looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet. When he looked up, there was a wry, if not very humorous smile, on his face. “I generally prefer women and I have enough trouble there as it is. Trouble that I’d really like to sort out in a way that doesn’t leave me short a head or worse.” He gave them a nod. “So I’ll let you gentlemen sort _this_ out for yourselves.”

With that, Varric gave them each a nod and headed for the door. He paused for a moment with his hand on the door knob. “Listen. I’ve got eyes and I’m pretty good at reading people. So… you three looked pretty damn cozy.”

The dwarf ducked out of the room, leaving Cullen to stare at the top of his desk while Blackwall leaned against one wall and Dorian paced in tight circles in the opposite corner. No one spoke and none of them seemed to know how to break the impasse. Cullen found he actually missed Varric for once. The dwarf might be irritating but he did at least know how to use his words.

“Safe, secure, solid, strong. Hold me so I sleep at night. No dreams, just calm, just peace.”

The words drifted through the room and despite the fact that boy was nowhere to be seen, Cullen knew it had been Cole, reflecting his own thoughts and feelings. He kept his head down though, not wanting the others to see the look on his face. It never occurred to him that he might not be the only one those words referred to.

Dorian cleared his throat. “Well, while I won’t say I haven’t admired you, Commander, I do draw the line at hairy lummoxes who don’t know their own strength.”

It was the tight, tense, almost broken tone of Dorian’s voice that made Cullen look up and his breath caught when he saw the look on the man’s face. It was… apprehension, fear, worry and a misery that made Cullen’s chest ache. And as soon as he realised Cullen was looking, Dorian turned and all but ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Cullen slumped down against the desk and ran a hand down his face.

The hand on his shoulder made him jump and he looked around to see Blackwall watching him with sympathy and a certain amount of understanding. There was also something hesitant and secretive lurking in his eyes but it disappeared when he got a good look at Cullen’s face.

“Come on,” Blackwall said gruffly. “There’ll be no talking to him right now and you look like shit.”

“What…?” Cullen began but Blackwall didn’t give him the opportunity to speak. He hustled him up the ladder and stripped them both of armour and clothes with a sort of military precision Cullen could only admire. In short order, he found himself in much the same position he’d been when he’d woken up on the fateful morning weeks ago, with Blackwall snugged up against his back, one heavy arm thrown over his waist. He couldn’t have stopped himself from relaxing and giving a faint sigh of relief even if he’d wanted to.

“I don’t know what this is,” Blackwall rumbled quietly. 

Cullen gave a small start. He’d almost been dozing but now he lay where he was and made a small sound to indicate he was listening. 

“Don’t know what this is,” Blackwall repeated. “Never really been one to look at the lads with any sort of intent, though I had my moments when I was younger, and with my… well, I’m not sure if I should really let this continue.”

The garbled protest escaped Cullen without his permission and he blushed and would have pulled away in embarrassment if Blackwall’s arm hadn’t tightened around him, holding him where he was.

“I shouldn’t,” Blackwall said, his voice suddenly dark and grim, full of something Cullen couldn’t quite decipher but felt might be sorrow. “But I don’t want to let it go. We’re going to regret this but you… here… it feels right.”

Cullen gave a sigh of relief and relaxed again. He felt Blackwall settle against him, waiting to see what he would say.

“I didn’t dream that night.” He grimaced even though he knew Blackwall couldn’t see it. “I didn’t… dammit… that didn’t come out right.”

Blackwall chuckled and Cullen shivered a little at the feel of it. “Say it however you need to, lad,” the Warden said. “I’m not going to get offended and, remember, I’m a soldier. You don’t have to explain or sugarcoat things to the extent you do with others.”

Cullen swallowed. He hadn’t forgotten that about Blackwall but he’d let what it _meant_ slip his mind. Blackwall _was_ likely to understand in ways that the others, except for Cassandra and maybe Bull, wouldn’t. Or perhaps _couldn’t_ was a better word.

“I’ve seen… I’ve done… terrible things,” he admitted and he felt Blackwall’s arm tighten around him for a moment. “I was in the Circle in Ferelden when it fell. I was… held prisoner. The mages… they weren’t kind.”

He felt Blackwall’s nod and knew he wouldn’t have to explain further. “How old were you?” the older man asked.

“Nineteen. About a year out of training.”

“Shit.”

He could hear the regret and horror in Blackwall’s voice and for once it didn’t make him cringe or get defensive. The tenor of Blackwall’s regret and horror was different. It was that of a fellow soldier, that of a commanding officer thinking of people under his command. It was… _understanding_.

“Things got… worse,” he continued. “I hated mages. I was afraid of them and I let that take control. I was sent away from Kinloch for being unstable and the Knight-Commander of Kirkwall recruited me.” His voice when he continued was full of self-loathing. “She fed my hatred and fear and I… I let her. She encouraged me and I revelled in it. She validated my hatred and I believed her.”

“You were young.”

Cullen shook his head. “Not that young.”

Blackwall’s arm tightened around him again and he felt the older man huff into the back of his neck. “You were young. You were traumatised. And yes, you made some shit decisions. But…”

The pain in his voice made Cullen twist and look over his shoulder. That pain was reflected on his face and he gave Cullen a wry, melancholy smile.

“You’re not the only one, lad.” He gave Cullen a nudge. “Now settle down.”

Cullen did so, even daring to snuggle backwards into Blackwall’s embrace to offer him some comfort. From the way Blackwall sighed, he thought it might have worked.

“What happened next?” the older man prompted.

“I… started to see how stupid I’d been,” Cullen said. “Hawke… helped in his own unique way. I guess I started to wake up a bit. See just how bad things were and how complicit I was in that. Tried to… do what I could. I was Meredith’s second in command, her Knight-Captain, but I knew that rank was tenuous at best if I started openly challenging her. She’d kicked out better men than me for doing far less.”

“Samson,” Blackwall grunted.

“Yeah, Samson.” Cullen knew he sounded a little sour but it was hard seeing the man he’d once known as a _good_ man, who had helped him like this… and more… parading around next to Corypheus. He sighed. “I fought with Hawke against Meredith in the end but… I think I knew even then that the Order wasn’t what I wanted anymore. I don’t know what I would have done if Cassandra hadn’t turned up and offered me something better… a chance for redemption.”

“And the nightmares?”

Cullen closed his eyes. “Kinloch mostly. Sometimes Kirkwall. It wasn’t so bad when I was still taking lyrium but now… it’s most nights.”

He felt Blackwall go still behind him and quickly reviewed what he’d just said. He closed his eyes and sighed. He’d felt so comfortable with Blackwall listening that he hadn’t thought to guard his words.

“What’s this about lyrium?” Blackwall said with gruff concern.

“Templars take lyrium,” Cullen said. “We… we get addicted to it. I stopped taking it when I took up the position as Commander. It’s been… difficult.”

“So that explains it. I’d wondered why you were the Commander,” Blackwall muttered then he patted Cullen’s chest soothingly when he bridled a little. “Not that I doubted your ability once I got here, lad, and saw what you were doing. You deserve your place and the title. But you’re young for it. Really should be an old fart like me in the job while you gallivant around with the Inquisitor.”

“You’re not that old,” Cullen objected.

Blackwall chuckled and patted Cullen’s chest again. “I’m old enough.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to travel much at first,” Cullen admitted sourly. “I don’t think I could even now, though it is better than it has been.”

“You’re doing good work,” Blackwall rumbled. “Don’t ever think otherwise.”

Cullen smiled a little. “Thank you.” He gave a small huff of a laugh. “Anyway, the nightmares… are bad. Wake up screaming, covered in sweat bad. It’s why I don’t… actually sleep a lot.”

“And why you look like shit half the time,” Blackwall added bluntly. “But you slept well that night?”

Cullen nodded then said reluctantly, “I felt… safe.”

Blackwall was silent for a moment. “Yeah, lad, so did I.” He snorted when Cullen twitched. “I have my own demons plaguing me in the night, Cullen. My past isn’t a good one and I’m not proud of it. Haunts me a lot.”

Cullen nodded in understanding. “Guess we could try this then.

“Guess we could,” Blackwall said with a chuckle. “Now go to sleep, lad. You need it.”

Cullen settled down and closed his eyes. He expected it would still take a while to actually get to sleep but the combination of his own tiredness, the unexpected emotional load from the evening and the warm solid strength against his back lulled him faster than he expected and as sleep claimed him, he could only feel grateful.

When Cullen woke the next morning, he felt better than he had for a while. A full night of uninterrupted sleep was a rarity and he’d forgotten how good it could feel. He’d also forgotten the other effect that being well-rested provided and while normally he might ignore his morning erection, he found it just a bit difficult today. Because he wasn’t the only one with a morning erection and he wasn’t quite sure what to do. 

If it had been Samson behind him, as it had so many times in Kirkwall before Samson had been kicked out, he’d turn over and make something of their morning wood. But he didn’t know what Blackwall wanted out of this. Did he want just a platonic bed partner? It seemed unlikely given he’d stripped them both naked but it wasn’t impossible either. They hadn’t exactly talked about this part of… whatever this was last night.

Blackwall muttered in his sleep and shifted slightly, his cock pressing against the crease of Cullen’s arse and sliding forward between his legs a little. Cullen drew in a breath and closed his eyes, frustrated at both his uncertainty and his sensitivity. Lyrium dulled a number of senses but it had never been a problem for Cullen. His ‘romantic’ encounters – other than Samson – had been few and far between and Samson had known a few tricks to get the blood burning a little quicker than normal. But since he’d stopped taking lyrium, he’d become unusually sensitive. It had been hell in the early days and while it seemed to be fading, it was taking its own sweet time about it and driving him mad in the meantime.

And the fact that Blackwall had now started making little shallow thrusts was not helping matters at all. He turned his head into the pillow to muffle his groan then reached down and took himself in hand. He knew that he shouldn’t, that he should wait until Blackwall was awake and they could discuss this like adults but Maker bless, he was not made of marble.

He was so caught up in his own head and in the feeling of his calloused hand on his cock that for a few crucial moments, he missed the fact that Blackwall had woken and gone very still. And when he did notice, he froze and blushed.

“That’s an impressive blush you’ve got there,” Blackwall said, his voice a low, hoarse, sleep-filled growl. “Goes quite the way down, doesn’t it?” 

Cullen swallowed audibly and opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Blackwall continued, low and deep and right in his ear.

“No need to stop what you’re doing on my account.”

Cullen moaned and could no more have stopped his hand from moving again than he could have stopped the sun from rising. As he continued, Blackwall snugged his arm around his waist a bit more securely and began to thrust, though instead of being light and shallow, these were harder, more determined and the head of his thick cock bumped against Cullen’s balls every time.

“This okay?” Blackwall rumbled. Cullen nodded and Blackwall squeezed tightly for a moment. “Need to hear it, Cullen. Need to hear you say it.”

“Yes,” Cullen gasped. “Maker, yes. Don’t stop.”

Blackwall chuckled. “Not going to do that, my lad.”

Cullen started moving his hand faster as he chased his orgasm and a moment later he felt the older man start mouthing scratchy kisses along his shoulder. The scrape of Blackwall’s beard against his oversensitive skin made him gasp and then make wordless noises of encouragement, which drew another chuckle from the man. He didn’t stop though and when he nipped at the juncture of Cullen’s neck and shoulder, that sting of sensation was enough to send Cullen over the edge. 

He gave a soft cry as he spilled over his hand and onto the bed and he heard Blackwall’s low curse before the older man’s thrusts became harder and more insistent. Blackwall cursed again and groaned low and deep in his chest as Cullen felt him spill warm wetness over his inner thighs. They both lay there for a moment, catching their breath, and Cullen felt Blackwall’s mouth against the back of his neck in soft delicate kisses.

“We’ve made a right mess,” Blackwall rumbled, sounding pleased and a little possessive as he ran his hand down Cullen’s stomach and over his now flaccid cock and between his thighs, smearing their combined spend over his skin.

“That’s the point, isn’t it?” Cullen said, leaning back into Blackwall’s arms a little. He knew he had to get up soon. Clean up and get down to supervise the morning training but he felt too good to move right at this moment and it was a rare enough sensation that he was willing to be a little late for once.

Blackwall laughed. “So it is. Hiding a little hedonistic streak, are we, Commander?”

“Yes,” Cullen said with a small smile.

Blackwall shifted so that he could pull Cullen round onto his back. “Good. A man needs to enjoy himself from time to time.”

That was advice Cullen hadn’t been able to follow. Until now. He reached up and slid a hand round the back of Blackwall’s head then hesitated for a moment.

“May I?”

The smile he got was soft and amused though there was _something_ lurking in the depths of Blackwall’s eyes that he didn’t much like. Before he could dwell on it, Blackwall leaned down at kissed him. It wasn’t what he was expecting but it was everything he wanted – gentle but with an edge of demand, wanting and appreciative. Then Blackwall pulled away and slapped him on the flank.

“Now, come on, Commander. Up,” he said with a gruff laugh. “You and I have recruits to whip into shape.”

Cullen gave a genuine laugh, one of the few in recent memory, and crawled out of bed to clean up and face the day. He knew there was still Dorian to deal with but for once, he was facing the day with optimism.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it's looks like we're going with the OT3 of Blackwall/Cullen/Dorian. Varric has to deal with Bianca and, as you may have noticed in the fic, Cassandra. He's got enough on his plate, though he may end up passing out on top of their legs again from time to time.


	3. As Long As You'll Have Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this part, Blackwall talks to Dorian, Dorian approves of Cullen’s choice of literature and it’s just as well Jim and the rest of the scouts stay out of Cullen’s office.
> 
> Oh, this is NSFW.

Blackwall nodded to the people he passed as he made his way through the main hall, ignoring any attempts to stop him. Partly that was because he knew they had questions about the Grey Wardens and Adamant that he would not be able to answer but mostly because he was on something of a mission and he didn’t want to be distracted from it. 

When he’d taken his leave of Cullen that morning, the man had been in a far better state of mind than the previous evening and had been facing his mountain of paperwork with wry humour rather than any great amount of stress. And truth be told, he was in a better mood than normal as well. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said that he’d never really seriously gotten involved with men before. There had been a few nights here and there but it had mostly been stress relief and little more. But this thing… he didn’t know what it was or where it was going but he wanted it. He was a fool to even entertain it with his lies hanging over his head but there it was.

That left sorting out Dorian and he knew he was probably a large part of why the man had run the previous evening. It was plain as the eyes on his face that Cullen fancied Dorian and the Tevinter mage returned those feelings. He wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about the mage though. There were parts of the man’s personality that grated on him, reminded him of people he’d once thought were worth following but had found out were playing him for the fool that he was, but even he would admit the man was easy on the eyes and in battle he was a force to be reckoned with and as unselfish a combatant as anyone could hope for. How many times had he exerted himself above and beyond the required in their recent foray into the Emprise to ensure Blackwall was well protected by barriers, even though they weren’t his strong suit?

He didn’t know much about the man beyond that, hadn’t even bothered to try, but for Cullen, he would. Hell, even for Dorian’s sake, he would. Which was why he was heading for the Inquisitor’s quarters right now. He hadn’t been able to find the mage in his usual spot in the library or in the tavern but a quiet question to Lavellan had given him the answer as to where the mage was hiding. The elven woman had given her friend sanctuary in her rooms but since Blackwall had assured her he was trying to make things right, she was willing to let him in.

Not that he really knew what to say to Dorian. He sighed as he pushed open the door and headed up the stairs. They didn’t really talk much and Lavellan hadn’t really taken them both along much. She favoured taking Solas as her mage, for obvious reasons, and she generally preferred having two warriors with her. So it was only when she broke with habit or chose to bring a larger party with her that Dorian came with them.

He paused at the top of the stairs and then set his shoulders. Based on their trip to the Emprise, Dorian was liable to be snippy and even nasty. He’d just have to bear through it all if he wanted to sort this out. With that in mind, he opened the door and made his way up the last set of stairs. Dorian was sprawled on the couch, reading one book and with others spread out all around him.

“Come to reclaim your territory, my dear Ellana?” Dorian said idly, not taking his eyes off his book.

“No,” Blackwall said gruffly as he leaned against the balustrade at the top of the stairs. “Come to talk.”

Dorian’s head shot up and he immediately tensed up, his expression blank and unfriendly. “There’s nothing to talk about,” he said stiffly.

“You want to be the one to tell that to the Inquisitor?” Blackwall replied, looking faintly amused.

Dorian sagged and sighed. “There _is_ nothing to talk about.”

“Your reaction and Cullen’s reaction last night says otherwise.”

Dorian’s expression became even more closed off. “You and the Commander looked very cosy the other night.”

“We were,” Blackwall said simply. “And Cullen was enjoying having you right where you were. Looked to me like you were enjoying it too.”

Now Dorian gave him a very wary look, clearly trying to work out what Blackwall was trying to say and what he really meant. Blackwall sighed and slumped a little.

“I’m sorry, by the way,” he said. “I didn’t mean to manhandle you so roughly in that fight but I figured you’d rather that than to have that behemoth clobber you.”

“I… yes, well,” Dorian said. He looked confused and a little lost, like this conversation was not going the way he thought it would and he wasn’t sure how to handle that. Finally he huffed and glared. “What do you _want_?”

“I want Cullen to be happy,” Blackwall replied with a shrug. “You may not believe it but I want you to be happy. That’s not going to happen with you sulking off somewhere else.”

“And what about you?”

“I’d like to be happy too but that’s… complicated.” Blackwall knew his expression was grim and sad but he couldn’t do much to change that. Or change what had prompted it and was going to undoubtedly blight all of this sooner or later and when it did, it was best that Cullen and Dorian had each other. 

Dorian stared at him thoughtfully then seemed to catch some of his bluntness. “I’m not sure I like you.”

“You don’t know me,” Blackwall countered. “And I don’t know you. We’ve both been making a lot of assumptions and letting it go at that.”

“That doesn’t mean our assumptions are wrong.”

Blackwall sighed. “Maker’s balls, man. What is wrong with you? I’ve told you Cullen wants you. It’s pretty obvious that you want him. What’s the problem?”

He was surprised to see the hesitancy on the mage’s face. It was more than hesitancy when he considered it. It was nerves and apprehension. Dorian looked like he was expecting an axe to fall on him at any moment.

Dorian opened his mouth to say something then he closed it again. He huffed and closed his eyes momentarily then he looked over at Blackwall almost defiantly.

“The Commander has a position of respect and honour in the Inquisition. He doesn’t need me ruining it.”

“Balls,” Blackwall said bluntly. “Cullen doesn’t give a damn about that. His people love him, the Inquisitor respects him and he couldn’t care less what some Chantry ninnies might say.”

Dorian huffed again. “I’m not interested in some cheap roll in the hay.”

“That’s not what’s on offer,” Blackwall countered immediately. “None of us can predict the future but Cullen isn’t the sort for casual sex and frankly neither am I anymore.”

“You… actually want this?” Dorian said, frowning and looking a little lost.

Blackwall sighed. “There are many reasons why I shouldn’t do this, why I should shove you and Cullen together and walk away and leave you both alone but I’m being selfish. I like Cullen. He’s a good man who’s been through hell and come out the other side stronger than before. I like that I can make him happy. I haven’t always been good at that sort of thing. I know that you being there with us will make him happier. I’m willing try and to see if we can make this work. You can’t be as shallow as you like to play or you wouldn’t have stuck around. That means I have been making unfair assumptions.”

Dorian had been staring at him throughout all of this, initially in surprise and then with a fair degree of speculation.

“Maybe I’ve been making a few unfair assumptions of my own,” he mused. “You’re not half as stupid as you seem.”

Blackwall snorted. “I probably am actually, just not in the ways you think.”

Dorian gave him a wry look then he glowered and shook his head. “I… this…” He sighed and ran a hand down his face. “This is… acceptable here in the south?”

Blackwall frowned. “Is what acceptable?”

Dorian hesitated for a moment. “Men… being together openly.”

“Of course,” Blackwall said with a snort. Then he paused and raised an eyebrow at Dorian. “It’s not in Tevinter?”

Dorian looked rather sour then he shook his head. “No,” he said shortly.

“Just as well you’re not in Tevinter,” Blackwall said dryly. “Now stop making up arguments you don’t actually believe and make sure you’re there tonight.”

With that he turned on one heel and headed back down the stairs. It was a strategic retreat. He figured Dorian needed time to think about what had been said but he hoped he’d said enough to get the man to join them. 

After dinner, Blackwall made his way over to Cullen’s office. He had a tray of food for the man since he’d noticed that the Commander wasn’t at dinner again. When he thought about it, it was something of a common thing for the man and he wondered how often Cullen had gone without dinner. He’d have to nip that in the bud. There was no work so urgent that it couldn’t be set aside for half an hour or so for a meal.

He was just walking through Solas’ chamber when he heard someone coming down the stairs. He paused long enough to see that it was Dorian and he jerked his head towards the door leading to Cullen’s office.

“Yes, yes,” Dorian said testily then he eyed the tray curiously. “What’s that?

“Cullen’s dinner,” Blackwall said gruffly. “Man wasn’t there this evening.”

“He’s absent more often that he’s present,” Dorian observed with a small frown.

Blackwall grunted. “Yeah. That has to stop.”

“I never knew you were such a mother hen,” Dorian said with sly amusement.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

Dorian gave him a sidelong glance and opened the door for him. They made their way across the walkway and Dorian opened the door to the office and they walked in. Cullen glanced up from his paperwork when they entered and his eyes widened momentarily.

“Blackwall.” He drew in a breath when he saw who else was there. “Dorian?”

“You weren’t at dinner,” Blackwall said, gesturing towards the desk. “Clear that and eat.”

He moved forward with a measure of intent that had Cullen’s eyes widening again before he hastily cleared enough of the paperwork on the desk to allow the Warden to set the tray down.

“Our good Warden has the soul of a mother hen,” Dorian said with false cheer as he prowled over to Cullen’s bookshelf.

Blackwall didn’t even spare him a glance. Instead he kept a steady gaze on Cullen until the Commander relented and began to eat.

“You miss dinner too often,” Blackwall said bluntly. “It’s not good for you.”

Cullen looked startled. “I do eat,” he said a little defensively. “I usually go down to the kitchens and scrounge something up later.”

“You’ll be coming to dinner from now on.” It was said bluntly and the glare Blackwall levelled on him brooked no disagreement. Cullen still looked like he wanted to protest so Blackwall said, “I could speak to the Inquisitor if you like?”

Cullen scowled at him. “That’s playing dirty.”

“Whatever works,” Blackwall said with a laugh.

“See?” Dorian said. “Mother hen.”

“You’re no use to anyone if you work yourself to the bone,” Blackwall said gruffly. “You’ll make yourself sick.” He levelled a gimlet glare at Cullen. “Would you allow any of your subordinates to work like this? Or the Inquisitor?”

Cullen looked at him helplessly because they all knew the answer to that question and he had nowhere to manoeuvre. “My work is important,” he said weakly though it was noted that he continued to eat.

“Not more important that your health, my dear Commander,” Dorian said, pulling out a book and opening it.

“Cullen.”

Dorian arched an eyebrow at him. “Hmm?”

“My name is Cullen. You should use it.”

Dorian flushed a little then gave a short nod. “I… yes. I suppose I should.” He looked down at the book in his hand and he seemed to see it for the first time. A startled look crossed his face and then he snickered and smirked. “My dear Cullen, you do harbour some surprises under that soldier’s façade. _The Fall of Evander and Iovis_? And is this… oh yes, this is an unedited copy.”

Cullen had gone an interesting shade of crimson. “It’s… the Templars believed in a well-rounded education,” he said a little defensively. “Literature was one of the subjects they offered.”

Dorian continued to look amused. “Did you know you can’t get this copy openly in the Imperium? It’s considered salacious and scandalous.”

“Why?” Blackwall asked from where he was leaning against the desk.

Dorian quickly flicked through the book then held it out to Blackwall. “Because of passages like this.”

Cullen finished the last of his meal and cradled his head in his hands and groaned as Blackwall took the book and read it quickly. In fact, he read it quickly enough to surprise Dorian, who gave the man a sharp, intent look.

“Well now,” Blackwall said with a chuckle. “Never seen smutty literature sound so highfaluting before. Isn’t this more Cassandra’s style?”

Cullen raised his head with an exasperated look, though his cheeks were still pink. “It’s _literature_. Classical literature.”

“The only difference between that and what Varric vomits out onto paper is the style of writing,” Dorian said. He moved closer to Cullen and after a moment of hesitation, he ran his fingers lightly along the back of Cullen’s neck. He leaned forward and almost purred, “How often have you read that, Cullen?”

Cullen drew in a sharp breath then he leaned back into Dorian’s touch. “A few times,” he admitted. 

He turned towards Dorian and there was a question in his eyes that made the mage gasp. Dorian quickly closed the gap and pressed his lips against Cullen’s. The kiss was gentle and slow, careful and questioning, an exploration that soon deepened into something more heated. They parted slowly and Dorian brushed his fingers along Cullen’s cheek as he stepped back.

“Very pretty,” Blackwall said. His eyes were dark and intent and he licked his lips as he pushed his way off the desk. “My turn.”

He stepped around the desk and slid one hand round the back of Cullen’s neck, holding him in place as he plundered the man’s mouth until he drew a small whimper from the Commander. Only then he did let go and pull away, watching as Cullen’s eyes opened to reveal a dazed and lustful look.

“My turn,” Dorian said and Blackwall looked at him with surprise. The mage smiled slightly. “I think I’d rather like a kiss that leaves a man looking like that.” He jerked his head briefly towards Cullen.

Blackwall was still for a moment then he stalked towards Dorian and, as he had done with Cullen, he wrapped a hand around the back of the mage’s neck and pulled him into a fierce kiss. Dorian was stiff against him for a moment then he melted against him with a small noise of surprise and desire. Blackwall held in him place until he’d drawn more of those noises out of him then he let him go.

Dorian staggered a little, catching himself on Cullen’s chair. He gave a start when his hand was taken then he smiled and allowed himself to be drawn down onto Cullen’s lap.

“What made you come back?” Cullen asked softly, a fond smile playing around his lips.

Dorian looked away and Blackwall came over and pressed up against his side. He had to admit that there was something… safe about being caught between the two warriors. He had no doubts about his abilities as a mage and he even had the confidence he could take on both Blackwall and Cullen and win but there was a security being here between them that he had rarely felt before. It scared him in many ways but he liked it. _Wanted_ it.

“The great hairy lummox had some compelling arguments,” he said dryly. 

Cullen looked up at Blackwall with surprise but the Warden only gave him an amused look in reply. He turned back to Dorian and smiled, “Well, I’m glad he did.”

Dorian frowned a little. “Commander… Cullen.” He sighed. “No, it _is_ Commander for this.” He licked his lips. “You are aware that many people are not going to look upon this… liaison kindly?”

“Firstly, it is _not_ a liaison,” Cullen said firmly. “It’s… more. At least that’s what I want.” He looked over at his desk, refusing to meet either Dorian or Blackwall’s eyes. “I want… everything really. If… If you’re both willing.”

“I’ll give you everything I have, lad, for as long as I’ve got,” Blackwall said gruffly, reaching out to cradle Cullen’s face with one hand for a moment before dropping the hand onto Dorian’s shoulder.

The mage was silent and Cullen finally dared to look at him. He was startled at the expression on Dorian’s face. It was open and vulnerable, full of wonder and trepidation.

“You… you mean that, don’t you?” Dorian whispered. “You truly mean it.”

Cullen frowned. “Of course I do. Dorian… what…?”

“Anything… anything between two men is considered… shameful in Tevinter,” Dorian said in a small voice. “To be hidden and never spoken of in decent company, never acknowledged openly. When I refused to hide, when I refused to marry the woman my parents had chosen for me, my father…” He broke off and shook his head, unwilling to continue.

Cullen cradled Dorian’s face with both hands. It was obvious something terrible had happened and he made no attempt to force him to speak of it. He would tell them in his own time, when he was ready and not before. 

“That’s not the way it is here, Dorian. I don’t want to hide this. To hide what’s between you and me and Blackwall. We don’t have to hide it.”

“Mother Giselle might beg to differ,” Dorian said wanly.

Blackwall snorted, keeping a steady, solid presence against Dorian’s side. “Mother Giselle can stuff her objections right up her...”

“Blackwall!” Cullen said, caught between disapproval and laughter. He looked at Dorian. “The sentiment’s right though. Mother Giselle’s opinion has no relevance. No one’s does. But if it’s any help, we already know that the Inquisitor approves and… and Cassandra will as well.”

Dorian looked confused. “Cassandra?” 

Cullen sighed. “She… noted my poor mood when you were all gone with the Inquisitor and she confronted me about it. She was of the opinion I should do something about it.”

“Who would have thought the Seeker was a closet romantic?” Blackwall said with a chuckle.

“Anyone who’s seen her choice of reading material would know that,” Cullen said dryly.

Dorian shook his head. “But you are the Commander. You need the respect of your people.”

“I have it,” Cullen said confidently. “This… relationship will not change that.”

He didn’t allow Dorian to offer any more objections. He leaned in and kissed him, letting his actions speak for him as best as he could. Dorian was tense for longer than he liked then the man all but melted against him, returning the kiss with equal fervour until Cullen pulled him tighter against him and the man yelped into the kiss. Cullen broke the kiss and Dorian pulled back, rubbing his chest and glaring at Cullen’s chest piece.

“That has to go before we continue,” he said disapprovingly, tapping the metal with a sharp finger. “It is _not_ comfortable on this side of it.”

Cullen looked amused. “It’s not meant to be. It would sort of defeat the purpose if it were.”

“And that is why it has to go.” He ran his hands through the fur at Cullen’s neck. “And the rest of it.”

Cullen raised an eyebrow and look at Dorian significantly. “That might be a little difficult.”

“Hmph,” Dorian said then he arched his head back to look up at Blackwall. “Are you planning on moving?”

Blackwall chuckled then leaned down and kissed Dorian, one hand bracing against his shoulder to steady him. Cullen watched them avidly then took the opportunity provided by the way Dorian was leaning back against Blackwall now to run a hand down the mage’s chest and stomach. He paused for a moment then ran his hands along Dorian’s thighs until they were snugged tightly against the juncture where his legs joined his body, his thumbs pressed tightly against the material covering Dorian’s cock and balls. The mage groaned deep his chest and broke away from Blackwall’s kiss.

“Cullen,” he said helplessly. His eyes were wide and his pupils dilated as he stared at Cullen.

“Let’s take him upstairs,” Blackwall said, his voice a hoarse growl.

Cullen glanced at the tray on his desk then dismissed it in favour of the men in front of him. He nodded and Blackwall backed off a bit then Cullen simply lifted Dorian off his lap and set him on his feet. Dorian yelped then looked at him with wide, startled eyes.

“That’s… I’m disturbingly turned on by that,” the mage admitted then he looked slightly embarrassed.

“What?” Blackwall growled, pressing up against Dorian’s back again. “Being manhandled? Thought you didn’t like it?”

Cullen got to his feet and plastered himself against Dorian’s front, taking care with his armour. Dorian gasped then shuddered between them, closing his eyes as he attempted to maintain his composure.

“Well, there’s being manhandled and then there’s being _manhandled_ ,” he said, licking his lips.

Dorian narrowed his eyes and his hands went to work on Cullen’s armour. Now it was Cullen’s turn to swallow hard and bite his lip as Dorian removed his mantle and his armour, piece by piece, the intermittent brush of his hands an unintended but delightful tease. When he was left in just his shirt, breeches and boots, Dorian placed his hands on his chest and ran them down to his stomach then around to his sides until they came to rest on his hips. Cullen smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him again. Dorian sighed into the kiss then he gasped and shuddered. Cullen pulled back and saw that Blackwall had turned his attention to Dorian’s neck. The mage’s eyes were closed and he now tilted his head to the side to give the Warden better access.

Cullen watched as Blackwall slowly kissed his way up Dorian’s neck and he felt himself harden at the blissful aroused look on the mage’s face. He would admit, privately at least, to wondering how this might work between the three of them but this… watching the look on Dorian’s face, watching Blackwall slowly undo Dorian… was as affecting as actually doing it himself. He knew from this morning what Blackwall’s mouth felt on his neck, he knew how good it was, he knew how Dorian must be feeling right now.

Dorian gave a low moan as Blackwall took his earlobe in his mouth and sucked on it. Cullen couldn’t hold back anymore. He surged against Dorian, pressing him tight against Blackwall, and captured his mouth in a reckless, wanting kiss, bringing one hand up to hold Dorian’s head in place. This close, his clothed erection was brought into contact with Dorian’s and they both groaned at the contact. Cullen bucked against Dorian and the mage whined as he felt Blackwall’s erection against his arse.

Cullen pulled away from the kiss and attacked Dorian’s neck and the mage panted desperately. “ _Please_ ,” he begged, not knowing whether to move forward or back and unable to do either given how tightly he was being held between the two warriors’ bodies. 

“Please what?” Cullen murmured, not moving from where he was placing sucking kisses onto the side of Dorian’s neck.

“Need…” Dorian let out a high-pitched desperate sound as Blackwall set his teeth lightly to the edge of his ear. “More! Please, Cullen… Blackwall…”

Cullen grunted with surprise as he found himself… all of them… being moved backwards then his back hit the wall and he pulled Dorian tightly against him. Blackwall them plastered himself to Dorian’s back and the mage cried out as that gave him the friction he wanted against his cock. Blackwall growled at his back and began to shove his hips forward, grinding his cock against Dorian’s arse. Cullen shifted slightly, moving his legs so that he slid one leg between Dorian’s bringing a glorious pressure against Dorian’s cock and allowing him to rut against the mage’s hip.

Cullen reached past Dorian and grabbed the back of Blackwall’s head. He pulled him forward into a kiss, which had the effect of shoving them even closer, if that was actually possible. The Warden made a low growl full of want and plundered Cullen’s mouth. He returned it with equal fervour as Dorian clutched at Cullen’s shirt with one hand and reached back with the other to grab hold of Blackwall’s arse, encouraging his movements.

Cullen’s hands reached for the fastenings on Dorian’s top and fumbled at them until he was forced to break away from the kiss with a frustrated noise.

“Maker, Dorian,” he growled and the mage shuddered at the sound. He’d never heard Cullen make that sort of sound before and he felt no shame at the jolt of arousal it sent through him.

He reached for the ties and buckles and in a few shorts, jerky moves, he undid them. Three sets of hands pulled the top off and Dorian whimpered and moaned as Cullen took the opportunity to kiss and nip at his collarbone and shoulders. He cried out and bucked his hips when Cullen’s fingers found his nipples and then felt both Cullen and Blackwall chuckle. He yanked at Cullen’s shirt with one hand and reached back to grip at the padded gambeson Blackwall wore.

“Off. Both of you,” he demanded.

Cullen pulled back only far enough to pull off his shirt but Blackwall stepped away in order to unbuckle his belt and take off his gambeson and shirt. Dorian made a small noise of loss and swayed slightly at the loss of the Warden’s heat and bulk against his back. Cullen reeled him in though and they kissed slowly, almost lazily as they waited. Then Dorian felt Blackwall against his back, the warmth more intense with no clothing in between them. He could feel the light scratch of Cullen’s chest hair against his own chest and Blackwall’s against his back and he let his head fall forward so that he could rest his forehead on Cullen’s shoulder.

“Dorian?” came Cullen’s quiet question. 

“M’good,” Dorian said, his voice a little slurred. “S’good. Please… don’t stop.”

“We’re not stopping,” Blackwall promised as he began moving his hips again, driving Dorian and Cullen together as well.

And he didn’t. With Cullen braced against the wall, Blackwall rolled his hips forward again and again and again, his mouth on Dorian’s neck and shoulders, leaving marks and red beard burn in his wake. His hands initially grabbed at Dorian and Cullen then he braced himself against the wall to allow him to move better. Cullen devoured Dorian’s mouth, swallowing his moans and whimpers and the other little noises he was making. Then Cullen pulled away with a low groan, his head falling back against the wall as he bucked hard against Dorian, gripped his hips and pulled him tight against him as he came. The sight was more than enough to pull Dorian over the edge with him and the mage slumped forward against Cullen, held up only by Cullen’s hands and Blackwall pressing him tight against the Commander. Blackwall growled as he kept moving his hips until Dorian titled his head back and attached his mouth to whatever skin he could find and Cullen’s hand landed on his arse, squeezing tight. Blackwall buried his face in the crook of Dorian’s neck as he came, his hips bucking a few times before he stilled.

They stayed where they were for a moment as they caught their breath and tried to summon enough energy to move. Finally Blackwall kissed Dorian’s neck and raised his head.

“Let’s go upstairs,” he rumbled contentedly.

The other two made noises of agreement but it was several minutes before they untangled themselves and staggered over to the ladder. Dorian made several complaints about the ladder and the lack of a proper roof and the problems inherent with failing to remove their breeches before they’d started their activities below. Cullen and Blackwall made soothing noises as they nudged and encouraged the mage out of his clothes and towards the bed. They collapsed onto the mattress and shifted around until they were under the blankets and furs and once again in the position they’d woken up in several weeks ago, with Blackwall snugged against Cullen’s back and Dorian curled up against his chest.

“No running away in the morning,” Cullen murmured in the wake of a yawn as he tightened his embrace of Dorian for a moment. “We want this. Want you. Want you to stay.”

Dorian was silent then he nodded. “For how long?” he asked, his voice heavy with something that made both Cullen and Blackwall want to take a sword to whoever had made Dorian so wary.

“As long as you’ll have us,” Blackwall said gruffly.

Dorian was silent for a moment. “That may be some time.”

“Good,” Cullen said before pressing a kiss to Dorian’s forehead.


	4. The Pleasure Was Ours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, we take a slight jump in time here (I'm working on a chapter about Dorian's dad. Fun times.) because was was [prompted](http://tellmevarric.tumblr.com/post/148220097193/okay-i-need-prompts-because-i-write-better-on) over on tumblr by athos-silvani for this OT3 with the following prompt: “Shit! Someone’s coming! Get in the closet, get in the closet!”
> 
> So this is set at the Winter Palace and is really just an excuse for 2000-odd words of smut. So, you know, NFSW and all that. :D

Cullen officially hated the Winter Palace. It was bad enough that he was trussed up in this damnable uniform – that was a size too small, he was sure of it, he didn’t give a damn what Josephine said, it was too damn small – but he was surrounded by Orlesians who were, by his standards, rude and exceptionally grabby. Leliana was no help. She was standing nearby, just watching with amusement. Oh, he was certain she’d step in if things went too far but apparently by Orlesian standards they hadn’t. All he could do was endure and hope to the Maker that the Inquisitor managed to find out what was going on quickly.

So he was a little surprised when Blackwall suddenly appeared in the main ballroom and came up to him. The man bowed slightly to the surrounding Orlesians.

“Excuse me, my lords and ladies, but I need to steal the Commander away from you for a moment.”

The Orlesian nobles made noises of disappointment but the use of his title allowed him the escape that he wanted and he strode off at Blackwall’s side and tried not to look as relieved as he felt.

“What’s wrong?” he murmured as they walked out of the ballroom.

“Not here,” Blackwall said shortly.

Cullen frowned and followed the Warden through the foyer and down a side corridor. The door at the end, which he was sure was _supposed_ to be locked, opened easily for the Warden and he was ushered into the corridor beyond and then through the first door they came to.

Whereupon he was immediate shoved up against the wall and had his lips captured in a passionate kiss. The familiar scent of oranges and spices told him it was Dorian and he eagerly returned the kiss. He felt the solid warmth of Blackwall against his side and when Dorian pulled away, there was a calloused hand at his jaw turning his head and then his mouth was claimed again, this time by Blackwall. A warm hand with very talented fingers cupped him through his breeches and fondled him in a way that quickly had him moaning into Blackwall’s kiss.

He pulled away from the kiss to gasp, “Dorian!” but his protest was ignored as the mage began to unlace his breeches and Blackwall turned his attention to his neck and that sensitive spot under his ear. He bit out a curse as warm nimble fingers dipped into his breeches and curled around his cock, stroking it to full hardness.

“Maker!” he gasped. “ _Please_.”

A fond chuckle echoed in his ear then Dorian said in a low silky tone, “I do love being deified, Amatus. Please what?”

He moaned as Dorian’s fingers curled around the head of his cock just as Blackwall slid his hand down the back of his breeches and squeezed one buttock. He was caught between pressing back into Blackwall’s hand and forward into Dorian’s. He’d completely forgotten that he was in the Winter Palace at a ball being thrown by the Empress of Orlais herself.

Blackwall chuckled as he nuzzled at that sensitive skin under Cullen’s ear. “He does get wound up pretty easily.”

“It’s delightful, isn’t it? So gloriously responsive. What shall we do with him?”

Cullen flushed and shuddered as Dorian stroked his cock and Blackwall’s fingers probed his crack and pressed against his entrance. 

“What is this door doing unlocked?”

Cullen didn’t hear the voice but the others did. The first he knew about anything, Blackwall and Dorian yanked their hands out of his breeches and Blackwall grabbed his arm.

“Shit! Someone’s coming! Get in the closet, get in the closet!”

Cullen found himself manhandled towards the ornate closet in the corner of the room and shoved inside, Blackwall behind him and Dorian pressed up against his front.

“What?” he gasped, as tried to work out what was going on, then Blackwall’s hand slammed over his mouth.

“Shh, Amatus,” Dorian whispered. “Unless you’d like to get caught.”

Cullen blanched and went still. Now that he was listening, he could hear footsteps in the distance as someone walked along the corridor. 

“I don’t think there’s anyone here. Maybe one of the servants forgot to lock it?”

“Check the rooms anyway.”

Cullen tensed as footsteps started getting closer then all of a sudden Dorian’s hand slipped into his breeches again and wrapped around his cock. He reached up and yanked Blackwall’s hand away from his mouth.

“Dorian!” he whispered in a scandalised tone. “What are you doing?”

“Shhh,” Dorian said. “If you want me to stop, just say so.”

The door to the room opened and Cullen opened his mouth to say stop but just as he did, he felt Blackwall’s hands slide into his breeches and grip his arse. He gave a shuddering moan that he somehow managed to make relatively soundless. Then Dorian somehow dropped to his knees in the tight confines of the closet and the wet warmth that surrounded his cock made him cry out helplessly, a sound that was abruptly muffled by Blackwall’s hand.

“What was that?” said one of the guards.

“What?”

“I thought I heard something in here.”

They heard the guards moving around the room and Cullen gasped against Blackwall’s hand, trying to keep silent as Dorian slowly moved up and down his cock, his tongue swirling around the head every time. He could feel Blackwall’s erection pressing against his arse and every time Dorian swallowed him down, he was pushed back onto it. He could hear the way Blackwall was fighting to control his breathing and then the older man’s mouth latched onto his neck just behind his ear.

His head fell back onto Blackwall’s shoulder as Dorian drove him closer and closer to the edge. He could hear the guards conducting a perfunctory search of the room and every time they came close to the closet, he felt his arousal rise higher and higher, until he finally tipped over the edge and spilled into Dorian’s warm, willing mouth.

“There’s nothing here,” the guard said, all but standing right outside the closet.

Cullen shuddered as Dorian slowly pulled off his cock, licking every inch of it clean as he got to his feet. He then found himself being turned around and Dorian’s hands on his shoulders pushed him down to his knees, Blackwall’s hand pulling away from his mouth. The next thing he knew, Blackwall’s thick cock was pressing against his lips and he eagerly opened his mouth and let him slide inside.

“Let’s go,” the other guard said from a bit further away.

Cullen dimly heard the sounds of footsteps walking away and the door to the room opening and closing but he was distracted by the slide of Blackwall’s cock in and out of his mouth. He brought one hand up to fondle the man’s balls and was rewarded by a low groan and the feel of Blackwall’s hand sliding into his hair. He relaxed his mouth with an encouraging sound and Blackwall began to fuck his way in and out, at first slowly and then faster until he groaned and came as Cullen swallowed everything he could. 

He was immediately pulled to his feet and pushed into Blackwall’s arms. He felt Dorian’s hands fumbling at his breeches and pulling them down then, shockingly, there were slick fingers pressing against his entrance and a warm body plastered against his back.

“Cullen, please,” came Dorian’s desperate voice in his ear. “May I? Let me…”

“Yes,” Cullen gasped, knowing it was madness but wanting it anyway. 

The fingers pressed into him and he relaxed against Blackwall, letting the burly Warden hold him steady as Dorian opened him up. He groaned and swore when Dorian’s fingers disappeared and then his noises were swallowed by Blackwall’s kiss as Dorian slowly entered him. He felt Dorian’s lips against the back of his neck and then the mage gripped his hips and started fucking him with enthusiasm. With everything that had already happened, it didn’t take long until Dorian’s hands tightened almost painfully on his hips – he’d surely have bruises there tomorrow – as he thrust forward one last time, grinding against Cullen’s arse as he spilled over inside him. Dorian then slumped against Cullen’s back and the three men collapsed back against the wall of the closet as they caught their breath.

After a few minutes like that, Dorian finally pulled away, his cock slipping out of Cullen’s arse. Cullen made a small sound of both loss and discomfort as he felt Dorian’s come start to trickle out then there was a small wash of magic over him and he was clean.

“What…” he began, his heart hammering at the unexpected use of magic even though he knew it could only have come from Dorian.

“Sorry,” Dorian murmured as he slumped back against him, his hands petting Cullen’s sides soothingly. “I know I should have asked first.”

Cullen rested his head on Blackwall’s shoulder and hummed as the Warden ran his hand through his hair. “S’okay.” He chuckled softly. “Josephine is going to kill all three of us.”

Blackwall made a rumbling noise. “That she is.”

“You both underestimate what magic can do when you know the right spells,” Dorian said, still not moving from where he was pressed against Dorian’s back. “Do you really think this is the first time I’ve snuck off from a party to have glorious sex in a back room? And my mother is far more formidable than even the illustrious Josephine Montilyet.”

They stayed where they were for a few more minutes then they slowly untangled themselves from each other. Cullen quickly laced up his breeches once he had emerged from the closet and winced at the rumpled state of both his breeches and his coat. He was sure his hair must be an utter disaster as well and he moved over to the mirror in the room to check. He winced when he looked at himself. His hair was indeed a mess but no one could look at his face and _not_ know what he had just been doing. His lips were red and swollen and he honestly did look like he had just been fucked.

“Maker’s breath,” he breathed as he tried to straighten his hair.

“Shush, Amatus,” Dorian said as he came up and sidled in front of him. The mage looked immaculate as always and when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw that Blackwall also looked entirely put together. Dorian brushed his fingers along Cullen’s jaw and drew his head around so they were looking at each other. “Let me use my magic and you’ll know why we look like this.”

Cullen nodded. “Well, I can’t go back looking like this,” he said, his voice a little hoarse.

Dorian’s hands slid through his hair, leaving the tingle of magic in their wake, then they drifted down his face and over his bottom lip. Cullen looked over Dorian’s shoulder to the mirror and saw that his hair was neat again and the red flush on his cheeks had faded along with any signs on his mouth of what he’d done. Dorian brushed his hands down front and back of his jacket and then down his breeches, leaving them neat and smoothly pressed again. Dorian straightened and smiled at him.

“There, Amatus. All tidy once again.”

Cullen cradled his face with one hand and drew him in for a gentle kiss. “Thank you.”

Dorian’s eyes were wicked as he answered, “Oh, the pleasure was _mostly_ mine. Also yours. And Blackwall’s.”

Cullen blushed and laughed. Blackwall came up and wrapped an arm around his waist and he leaned into the older man.

“I know _I_ enjoyed it,” the Warden said. He then made a shooing motion at Dorian. “Now scram, love. We need to get back to the party before anyone other than Leliana and Josephine miss us.”

Dorian blushed faintly at the endearment then pressed quick kisses to both their lips before sashaying ostentatiously out of the room. Cullen watched him go and only realised Blackwall had been doing the same thing when there was a low growl in his ear.

“That man is a menace.”

Cullen chuckled and leaned into Blackwall a little more. He felt relaxed and just a little shaky after what they’d done and he knew if he thought about it too much, he’d be mortified so… he tried not to.

“He knows that.”

Blackwall turned him around so that he could kiss him properly then he stepped away. “Wait for a couple of minutes.”

Cullen nodded and watched Blackwall head out of the room. He leaned back against the wall as he mentally counted out time. Leliana was sure to know what he’d been up to and he felt a blush stain his cheeks at just the thought but for the first time since he’d set foot in the Winter Palace, he felt relaxed and comfortable so he decided to ride that feeling for as long as he could before the Orlesians tore it away from him.


	5. Starting Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter also came from a prompt over on tumblr. The prompt was: Saying I love you like -- In awe, the first time you realised it.
> 
> This is set after the reveal of who Blackwall really is and thus is does tend towards the angsty.

In the days since the judgement of Blackwall – or Thom Rainier – Cullen wasn't sure which name they were meant to use – the false Warden had been conspicuously absent from Cullen's rooms. The bedroom in the loft over Cullen's office had become, by default, _their_ room, given that it was more or less halfway between Dorian's room and Blackwall's barn. Not to mention the fact that without being _encouraged_ Cullen would have been prone to working until ridiculous hours of the night.

But in the days since the judgement, the bed above the office had only had two occupants instead of its usual three. Neither Dorian nor Cullen had spoken about this and the absence of Blackwall – or Thom Rainier – was rapidly becoming the druffalo in the room.

Cullen suspected that Blackwall had always known that his secret would eventually come out and that was why he'd worked so hard in the beginning to convince Dorian to join them. So that Cullen wouldn’t be left alone when Blackwall had been executed for his crimes. It was very noble of him but ultimately misguided. Dorian wasn't the only one Cullen cared about and he suspected Dorian felt much the same. With just the two of them, the relationship felt strange and unbalanced and oddly fragile, like they were navigating a strange land without a map. He felt that eventually they'd find their balance as two instead of three but... he didn't want to.

“How long are we going to ignore this?”

Cullen gave a start as Dorian spoke from where he was tucked against Cullen's chest.

“I don't know what to do,” he admitted

“Cut him loose? Since that's what he seems to want.”

Cullen winced at the acidity in Dorian's voice “I'm not sure he does want that. Besides…” He sighed. “I'm not very good at letting go of people I care about. Not without a fight.”

Dorian was silent again for a moment. “Did you ever know about what he did?”

“Personally?” Cullen said. “No. Fereldans don't really get involved in Orlesian politics. We tend to think they're a bit ridiculous.”

“There’s nothing ridiculous about killing children.”

“I know.” Cullen sighed. “He regrets it. Maker! The man was willing to go to the gallows for it. From everything the Inquisitor found out, he's spent every day since then trying to atone for what happened.” He was silent again for a moment then he said quietly, “I know the feeling.”

Dorian shifted enough to look him in the face. “You've never done anything like that!”

“Oh, Dorian love, we both know that isn't true,” Cullen said with a pained expression. “The things I did in Kirkwall, that I allowed to happen, are equally as bad as what Blackwall did. Worse perhaps because I didn't stop for years.”

Dorian winced and drew Cullen into a series of soft small kisses. The day Cullen had painfully admitted what he'd been like in Kirkwall had been... unpleasant to say the least. It had been obvious the man deeply regretted what he'd done and had dedicated his life to making amends and being better but Dorian had needed time to come to terms with it. 

His bed had never seemed so cold and lonely than in that week he'd slept alone in his old room. He'd needed that time though, to reconcile the man Cullen was now with the man he had once been. And now that he thought back on that time, Blackwall's quiet understanding and support of both of them suddenly made sense. He'd been surprised at the time, expecting Blackwall to favour his fellow warrior, but instead Blackwall had shown understanding for both their views and had been the main reason Dorian had been able to work his way through his thoughts so quickly.

“How long has it been since...” he asked

“Five years, give or take,” Cullen replied. “It was in 9:37.”

“Five years of hiding and trying to be a better man.”

“Succeeding too,” Cullen added. “On both counts. Leliana had the information in her possession but there was no reason to connect Blackwall and Thom Rainier. He could have kept his head down and no one would have been the wiser.”

“But if he had kept his head down after learning about Mornay, he wouldn't have been the good man he's been aiming for,” Dorian pointed out. He looked up at Cullen. “You've already forgiven him, haven't you?”

“I… yes,” Cullen said. “What he did was terrible but I’ve done equally terrible things myself. I'd be the worst kind of hypocrite if I didn't give him the second chance I've been given so freely.”

Dorian nodded then snorted. “Maker knows I’ve met worse men who never felt a shred of remorse for their actions.”

“You don't have to forgive him just because l have.”

Dorian cradled Cullen's cheek with one hand. “I'm not. I've been thinking about this ever since Ellana passed judgment on him.” He snorted. “Does it make me a bad person to feel pleased that he's actually not as teeth grindingly noble as he always seemed?”

“No,” Cullen said with a chuckle. “I'll confess to feeling a bit the same.”

Cullen hesitated then and Dorian eyed him curiously, the former Templar seemed to be debating whether or not to say something. From his expression – always so easy to read for someone from Tevinter – he wasn't sure whether he liked what he was thinking, that whatever it was made him feel like he was being small and petty. Dorian had a feeling he knew what it was so he decided to take some pity on his lover.

“It's nice to take him off the pedestal and bring him down to where we are,” he said.

Cullen gave a start then frowned. “Not… nice. Just…” He gave a huff. “I don’t know.”

“I think I do actually,” Dorian said with a small smile. “I’m not sure whether it makes us bad people or just utterly human but it’s nice to know he’s as flawed as we are.”

Cullen still looked disquieted but he didn’t disagree. Instead he pulled away from Dorian and got out of bed.

“Amatus?” Dorian asked, a concerned frown creasing his forehead.

“It's time he stopped sulking in the barn and we stopped punishing him,” Cullen said firmly. “I'm going to go and get him.”

Dorian chuckled and made no further protest as he watched Cullen get dressed and head for the ladder. He curled up on his side and waited as the door opened and closed below. It took less time than he expected before the door opened and closed again and he heard people climbing the ladder.

“Is it Thom or Blackwall?” he asked as the familiar bearded face came into view, seeing no reason not to address this particular druffalo in the room directly.

Blackwall halted for a moment then kept going, clearly nudged into motion again by Cullen. He climbed up into the room and stood awkwardly out of the way as Cullen joined them.

“Thom will do,” he said in a low voice. He looked tired and uncertain and so very weary. He looked… broken. It was a feeling Dorian knew all too well.

“Get undressed and get into bed,” Cullen said, giving the older man a nudge.

“Amatus,” Dorian chided as he watched Cullen strip off his shirt and Thom slowly followed suit. “Perhaps if you made it sound less like an order and more like an invitation?”

Cullen halted, wearing little more than his smalls. He sighed then went over and wrapped his arms around Blackwall, letting his head drop onto the man's shoulder. “I'm sorry.”

Blackwall... Thom froze for a moment then then gave a low groan, like a wounded animal, and pulled Cullen into a fierce embrace.

“Maker, Cullen, you don't need to apologise for anything,” Thom said gruffly. “Though I still don't know what's going on here?”

“We decided that if I could forgive Cullen for his past transgressions against mages and he could forgive himself for the same, we could both forgive you for your lies,” Dorian replied.

“This is a little different,” Thom said, though both Cullen and Dorian noticed that he didn't let go of the Commander.

“Not that different,” Cullen said grimly.

“Come to bed,” Dorian said, derailing the blame game that was threatening. He knew they’d be talking about this at length in the morning and that it would be a while before they’d be able to trust Thom again but in order to get to the point where they clearly all wanted to be, they needed to start somewhere. Getting Thom back here with them was that starting point. “I'm getting cold.”

Thom chuckled. “Well, we can't have your lordship getting cold.”

It was such an utterly normal response that they all froze for a moment. Then Dorian smiled and held out one hand.

“That's better. Now come here.”

Thom slowly stripped off his breeches and smalls and let Cullen nudge him over to the bed. They climbed in and in something of a reversal of their usual positions, Dorian curled up against Thom's chest while Cullen pressed up against the older man’s back.

“You truly want me here?” Thom asked, mumbling the words into Dorian's hair.

“Yes,” Dorian said firmly, wrapping himself around Blackwall like a particularly attractive leech. “This is where you belong.”

“Maker,” Thom said, sounding small and lost. “I… I love you.”

There was a moment of silence then Dorian said, “What?”

This time when Thom spoke his voice was full of awe, like what he'd said was a revelation to him as well. “I love you. Both of you. I don't know how you can forgive me but I love you for it.” He took a deep breath and continued. “I love you for your faith in me. I just damn well love you and I’ll love you for as long as you’ll let me.”

It wasn't the first time one of them had said those there words. Cullen had been the first and Dorian called them both Amatus but this was the first time Thom had said those words. Dorian suspected it had come now and not before because of everything that had just happened, not because he hadn't been in love with them all along. Why complicate things by admitting you were in love when you knew everything was going to fall to pieces?

“I love you... both of you,” Cullen said with a small smile, breaking Dorian out of his thoughts.

Dorian sniffed and snuggled a bit closer to Thom. “I don't call just anyone Amatus, you know.”

He felt as much as heard the shuddering sigh from Thom and the man’s arms tightened around him almost painfully for a moment. 

“I don’t deserve either of you,” Thom murmured gruffly, “but I will do everything I can to prove my worth to you again.”

“Then stay,” Cullen murmured. “Just… stay.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, we're slightly out of chronological order with this one. It comes before Starting Point.
> 
> This chapter deals with Redcliffe and Dorian's father so it gets a little angsty before Lavellan makes sure there's a happy(ish) ending.

Cullen was hard at work when the door to his office opened and the Inquisitor walked in. He greeted the elven woman with a smile and set aside his pen. He was immediately aware that there was some sort of problem from the worried frown on her face but she didn’t seem to be there to drag him to the War Room. It made him wonder whether the problem was personal rather than one affecting the Inquisition as a whole and if it was personal, why was she coming to him? He wasn’t really all that adept at dealing with such things.

“Inquisitor. Is everything alright?”

Ellana closed the door behind her then paced back and forth, chewing on her bottom lip. She seemed to be mentally debating something and Cullen waited patiently. Over the months that Ellana Lavellan had been first Herald and then Inquisitor, he’d gotten used to her ways. It was always best to let her cogitate her way through whatever was troubling her. She’d explain as soon as she’d sorted out the best way of saying it.

“I have a letter,” she finally said. She hesitated again and looked at him, her eyes wide with worry and concern. “It’s… well, it’s about Dorian.”

Cullen straightened and he felt a surge of quiet anger. Was someone causing trouble? “In what way?” he asked.

Ellana chewed on her lips for a moment. “It’s from his father, Halward Pavus. He’s been corresponding with Mother Giselle and she approached me about it.”

Cullen frowned a little. The… relationship between himself, Blackwall and Dorian was barely two weeks old but Mother Giselle had already made her disapproval plain in the way she watched him and Dorian censoriously when they were playing chess. Blackwall also said he got the same looks when he ventured up to the main building. Thus far she hadn’t _said_ anything but it was only a matter of time.

“If she’s…” he began but he fell silent when Ellana waved her hand, a small fond smile on her face.

“No, it has nothing to do with the three of you. This… well, this letter arrived before all of that got started. It’s… he’s apparently trying to reconcile with Dorian but he doesn’t really say what the disagreement was about.” She frowned. “And I’m not sure whether I should tell Dorian.”

Cullen’s frowned deepened. He was aware, from things Dorian had alluded to, that his leaving Tevinter was not done under the best circumstances. Dorian had refused to go into details but he wondered whether it had anything to do with what Dorian had told them about the attitude towards relationships like theirs in Tevinter.

“If he’s trying to reconcile with Dorian, surely he should be writing to _him_ , not Mother Giselle,” he said carefully.

“Yes, that’s what I thought,” Ellana replied. “He wants me to bring Dorian to a meeting with a retainer in Redcliffe. Well, I think he wanted Mother Giselle to do that but she’s suspicious.”

Cullen raised an eyebrow but gave some mental thanks to the Chantry Mother for that suspicion when she’d made her dislike of Dorian quite plain. “I certainly agree that it’s suspicious.” He paused. “If you were planning on doing this, I strongly suggest you tell Dorian beforehand. Or I will.”

Ellana smiled. “Actually I was rather hoping you and Blackwall would be there when I told him. And come with us to Redcliffe.”

“You want _me_ to come with you?” Cullen said with surprise.

“Of course!” Ellana huffed. “Irrespective of whether it’s a trap or whether Dorian’s father is genuine, Dorian is going to need both of you.”

Cullen gave her a nod of thanks. “Where do you want to do this?”

“I thought maybe here?” she said hesitantly. “I don’t really want to do it in full view in the library and if he’s going to get upset, it’s probably best done out of everyone’s sight.”

“That’s a good idea. I can go and get Blackwall if you’ll get Dorian.”

The Inquisitor looked relieved. “Thank you.”

They split up then and Cullen hurried down to the barn. Thankfully Blackwall took one look at his face and asked no questions. He simply set down the tools he’d been using and followed Cullen up to his office.

“The Inquisitor needs to tell Dorian something and he’s probably not going to like it,” Cullen explained tersely when they got there. Blackwall nodded and leaned against the wall next to the door.

A moment later, the door leading to the main building opened and Ellana and Dorian came in. The mage looked curious and just a little concerned and Ellana was openly nervous.

Dorian looked around and arched an eyebrow when he saw both Cullen and Blackwall. “Well now, this is all very ominous. What’s going on?”

Ellana bit her lip. “Dorian… I have a letter you need to see.”

“A letter?” Dorian looked amused, as though he couldn’t understand why a letter would cause all this fuss. He then waggled his eyebrows and gave a salacious grin. “Is it a _naughty_ letter? A humorous proposal from some Antivan dowager?””

“It’s from your father,” Ellana said bluntly and the grin slid off Dorian’s face in an instant, leaving a stormy expression in its wake.

“From my father?” he snapped. “And what does Magister Halward want, pray tell?”

“A meeting.”

Dorian’s eyes narrowed and he held out one hand. “Show me this letter.”

She pulled the letter in question out from her tunic and handed it to him. Dorian took it and started reading and pacing. His scowl grew with every word and he snorted several times before he finally lost control.

“I know my son?” he parroted scornfully. “What my father knows of me would barely fill a thimble! This is so _typical_. I’m willing to bet this retainer is henchman, hired to knock me on the head and drag me back to Tevinter.”

Cullen stepped forward, concern written all over his face. “You think that’s likely?”

Dorian hesitated at that and frowned at the letter. “Well, it’s possible but…” He shook his head. “Look, let’s just go and meet this family retainer.” He glanced over at Ellana. “If it’s a trap, we escape and kill everyone. You’re good at that.”

Ellana gave him an unimpressed look then she bit her lip again before venturing carefully, “There seems to be some bad blood between you and your family.”

Cullen was glad she’d said that and from the look on Blackwall’s face, so was he. It wasn’t a subject they’d gone near with Dorian as he tended to close off and get snippy every time they tried. They’d both deemed it sensible to steer clear of the subject until Dorian was ready to tell them. Unfortunately, it looked as though they’d run out of time to wait.

Dorian gave a bitter laugh that made them all wince. “Interesting turn of phrase but you’re correct. They don’t care for my choices…” His voice turned very bitter. “Nor I for theirs.”

Ellana looked a little lost and wary as though she realised she’d wandered into a bog and any step might send her sinking into quicksand. “You should meet with this retainer,” she said gently. “Find out what your family wants.”

“I didn’t ask what _you_ thought, did I?” Dorian snapped. Cullen took a step closer and Blackwall pushed off the wall but then they subsided when Dorian sighed and waved a hand in apology. “That… was unworthy. I apologise. There’d be no harm in hearing what this man of my father’s has to say.” He gathered some of his normal manner around himself. “If I don’t like it however, I want to leave.”

Ellana gave him a quick grin. “That sounds good to me.”

“I wonder how much my father paid this man to wait around just in case I showed?” Dorian mused. There was a glint of malicious glee in his eyes that was both amusing and slightly worrying.

Ellana looked innocent. “ _Wellllll_ ,” she said slowly, drawing out the word until Dorian raised an eyebrow at her. “I _have_ had this letter for a few weeks now…” 

She gave him her best impish grin and Dorian laughed, sharp and high.

“Well now, that _will_ be putting my father out of pocket,” he said. “Thank you, Inquisitor.”

Ellana inclined her head slightly. “I thought we could leave tomorrow morning?” 

Dorian nodded and she glanced over at Cullen and Blackwall, including them in the question. Dorian didn’t seem to notice but they both nodded in reply. Blackwall quirked an eyebrow, realising that Cullen had been included, but he made no comment as the Inquisitor hurried out the door.

Only now did Cullen approach the mage. “Dorian?” he asked softly, placing one hand on his shoulder.

Dorian was almost frighteningly still for a moment then the hand holding the letter tightened into a fist, crumpling the paper, and he turned towards Cullen and leaned against him, burying his face in the fur of his mantle. Blackwall came over and placed a large warm hand against his back and Dorian sighed with relief.

“How bad is this going to be?” Blackwall asked, settling himself against Cullen and Dorian comfortably.

Dorian shook his head. “No idea,” he said, his voice muffled by the fur. “Depends… depends on what he wants.”

“You don’t think it’s reconciliation?” Cullen asked, his hand settling against Dorian’s side and rubbing soothingly.

Dorian raised his head and the other two men both winced at the expression on his face. It was bitter and weary and so lonely that Cullen wrapped his arm around Dorian’s waist and drew him closer. Blackwall slid his hand up to the back of Dorian’s neck and let him feel the warmth and contact. Dorian smiled wanly at them but given he made no move to escape, they relaxed.

“The only reconciliation he’d want is me doing his bidding,” Dorian said, sounding so very tired.

“From what you’ve told us, I gather he agrees with the prevailing attitude in Tevinter about men?” Blackwall asked, wrapping an arm around Cullen’s waist as he played with the hair at the back of Dorian’s head.

Dorian nodded. “Oh, absolutely.”

“But there’s more isn’t there?” Blackwall said so shrewdly that Dorian gave him a sharp look. The Warden snorted. “No, I haven’t been prying or asking questions. It’s not as if I’d even know who to ask. Call it a good guess.”

Dorian leaned into them for a moment longer then he pulled away and started pacing back and forth across the room. “A very good guess,” he said sourly. “To say my father disapproves of my preferences would be an understatement. He disapproves even more of the fact that I refuse to hide them away. He _might_ have been willing to overlook that if I’d been prepared to be obedient and marry the woman he had lined up for me.”

“What?” Cullen said, looking startled.

Dorian snorted. “Well, I had to marry, didn’t I, Commander? I had to produce the next generation of Pavus heirs, in the hopes that one of them might not be so _deviant_.”

“Dorian,” Cullen said, sounding so pained that Dorian flinched away. Cullen looked hurt but Blackwall murmured something in his ear and the Commander settled down. Dorian didn’t know what the Warden had said but he was grateful for it. As much as he craved their comfort, he would never get this out if he let himself seek it right now.

“What did he do?” Blackwall growled.

Dorian glanced over and saw a layer of burgeoning anger in the man’s eyes that was a panacea to the hurt and pain that had been resurrected by the letter. He doubted Blackwall knew what had actually happened but he certainly expected something bad.

“He decided that since I would not accede to his wishes willingly, he would _make_ me.” Dorian was aware that his voice was full of anger and bitterness and pain but he could no more have hidden that now, with these men, than he could have thrown Bull across a room with nothing more than his own strength. “All my life he told me of the evils of blood magic. The resort of the weak mind was what he always said.” He sneered. “But when his precious heir refused to play along, refused to spend his life screaming on the inside, what does he do? Kidnap me! Hold me captive until he could perform a blood magic ritual on me. Never mind that it might have left me a vegetable. Apparently _that_ risk was far preferable to the idea that his son and heir might prefer to have sex with men!”

A strangled noise broke through his rant and he turned to see Cullen staring at him with horror. The Commander looked pale and stricken and he couldn’t imagine why what he’d said had gotten such an extreme reaction. However the moment Cullen realised he was looking, he pulled himself back into some semblance of normality and waved away Blackwall’s comforting hand.

“He was going to do _that_?” Cullen said, sounding indignant and angry. “Unless he’s planning on making some kind of amends, what reconciliation can there be?”

Dorian stared at him for a long, long moment, almost unable to understand what he was saying. The moment it sank in that Cullen – and after a glance, Blackwall as well – were angry on _his behalf_ , that they thought what his father had nearly done was reprehensible and wrong, something finally broke open within him and that icy cold core he’d carried with him out of Tevinter finally melted. He gave an inarticulate cry and rushed forward, throwing himself at both men, for once entirely uncaring of his reputation, not here, not with these two men.

He let himself be held by them, breathing in the scent of elderflower and oakmoss that seemed to cling to Cullen and the scent of hay and fresh wood that was Blackwall. Even the sharp edges of Cullen’s armour served more as a reminder that he was here, with the Inquisition, with Cullen and Blackwall, and not in Tevinter.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go,” Blackwall said.

Dorian pulled back a little and scowled at him. “I’m not a precious flower that needs to be protected.”

“I’m not saying that,” Blackwall said irritably. “I know you’re perfectly capable of looking after yourself. I’m just saying that if he was going to do that to you once, who’s to say he’s not here to finish the job.”

“The Inquisitor wanted both of us to come to Redcliffe,” Cullen said to the Warden.

“Thought that’s what she was getting at.” Blackwall rubbed Dorian’s back absently. “Reckon we can convince the rest to come along as well?”

Cullen chuckled. “I don’t think it would be too difficult.”

“Are you two quite finished organising everything for me?” Dorian snapped.

Cullen brushed his fingers along the mage’s cheek. “We’re not organising things for you. If you really don’t want us to come, we won’t. We just want to help. To protect you, even though we know you can protect yourself. This is what relationships are all about.”

“You got away from him, didn’t you?” Blackwall rumbled. “That’s enough to tell me you’re capable. But it never hurts to have some back up.”

Dorian pulled away and walked over to Cullen’s desk. He stared down at the papers and poked at the bag on the corner. He honestly didn’t know how to react. He’d never _had_ anyone who would stand by him like this. Oh, there had been Felix and Maker knows Felix had been as loyal as anyone could ever want but then Felix had been Blighted and Dorian hadn’t wanted to add to his problems. So he’d managed by himself and he thought he’d done rather well. He’d convinced the Inquisition to help stop Alexius and he was of use here.

And now his father had come back into his life, threatening to destroy everything he’d worked for, everything he had.

He stared down at the desk. “You’ll come?”

Cullen walked over and placed a hand on his back. “Of course.”

Dorian nodded. “He’s liable to be unpleasant.”

“He can try,” Blackwall said with a snort. “I’m pretty damn sure we can be just as unpleasant right back at him.”

“I’m sure the Inquisitor will have some things to say to him,” Cullen added, looking amused.

Dorian had to chuckle at that. Ellana might prefer to have Solas at her side when she went out but she spent a great deal of time with him when she was at Skyhold. Admittedly at least some of that time had, at first, been making pointed comments about the situation in Tevinter but the early snark had settled into more comfortable teasing and he now valued her friendship highly. The idea of her turning that snark on his father was definitely a pleasing mental image.

It was a mental image that he clung to when the ‘family retainer’ turned out to be his father. He heard Lavellan’s quiet indrawn breath when he identified the man who came into the room and underneath that the creak and chime of Blackwall and Cullen’s armour as they shifted in surprise. The meeting itself went much as he expected it might – his father proved to still be utterly oblivious to why what he’d done was wrong and simply wanted Dorian to come home and toe _his_ line. Lavellan tolerated this for all of five minutes before she decided that she’d had enough.

“Blackwall, Commander, please take Dorian outside,” she ordered crisply. “Magister Pavus and I need to have a little chat.”

Dorian opened his mouth to protest but quickly found himself being manhandled outside, where he promptly set his heels into the ground and dragged them all to a halt. Solas took one look at the three of them and ushered Varric away.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Dorian demanded.

“As entertaining as watching the Herald tear strips off your father might be, you don’t need to hear that,” Blackwall said with a frown.

“Blackwall’s right.” Cullen looked furious as he glanced back towards the door. “How could he? He was acting like he hadn’t done anything wrong!”

Dorian sighed, his sudden burst of anger draining from him as he was reminded of that. “He doesn’t think he has. How can I be his heir and continue the family line if I don’t do what he wants?”

“Bugger him,” Blackwall grunted.

“I’d rather bugger you,” Dorian said with a flash of a grin.

Blackwall laughed coarsely. “Sounds like fun.”

The door to the pub opened and then slammed closed behind Lavellan. She glared at all three of them for a moment before letting out a breath and growling for a moment.

“Ugh, what a pig! How in the Creators’ names did you put up with that fatuous ass?” Her eyes narrowed. “He called me ‘girl’!”

“He calls all the female slaves that,” Dorian said sourly. “He’s never bothered to learn or remember their names.”

For a moment Lavellan looked like she was about to walk back into the pub and give the Magister another piece of her mind but then she growled again and stalked off.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said over her shoulder. “Before I do something that Josephine will make me regret.”

Dorian snorted at that particular phrasing and looked over at the door to the pub. Before he could do or say anything, Cullen caught his hand.

“Forget him,” the Commander said softly. “He might not value you just the way you are but we do.”

Dorian swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. “The things you say.”

“I mean them,” Cullen replied. “All of them.”

“Aye,” Blackwall added. “We both do.”

Dorian’s smile might have been a little tremulous but it was genuine. “Well then, let’s go home, shall we?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is not actually a part of the rest of this story. This is the modern Thedas AU version of it and it's sort of a pre-OT3 piece. Cullen and Blackwall are already together, Varric was with them but left (amicably) and they have just met Dorian. 
> 
> This came from a prompt post over on tumblr and the prompt was: Knocking on the wrong door AU
> 
> Consider this a small interlude!

Dorian wasn’t displeased with the apartment he’d just moved into. If he was honest with himself, he couldn’t really afford to be _that_ picky but the building and the apartment were clean and well-looked after, the neighbourhood was good and thus far the neighbours, those that he’d met, were quiet and polite. Mostly anyway. He really couldn’t ask for more on the budget he had.

However the one thing that was driving him up the wall was the dripping tap in the bathroom. Perhaps if the apartment was a two bedroom and the bathroom was shared, he might not hear it as much but the apartment was a one bedroom and the bathroom was an ensuite to the bedroom so he heard the damn thing drip, drip, drip all. Night. Long. It was driving him mad. 

He’d been _trying_ to find out where the building manager lived to get it fixed but apparently the building manager did not live in one of the ground floor apartments like he ought to. One of the neighbours, an odd brash blonde girl called Sera who shared the apartment next door with her tiny girlfriend Dagna, had told him that apartment six was the one he needed and he’d been so relieved to _finally_ find out where the building manager was, he hadn’t paid attention to her giggle or her girlfriend’s smothered smile.

So now, here he was, standing in front of number six and he paused to take a breath before knocking firmly on the door. He didn’t have to wait long before the door was opened by a rather burly bearded man who looked appropriately comforting as the building manager. He definitely looked like the ‘I can fix your plumbing’ type.

“Well, _finally_ ,” he exclaimed. “Do you know how hard it was to find you? I don’t know why you’re not living on the ground floor where it would be sensible but I suppose it doesn’t matter now. Sera told me where you were. My shower is dripping. Endlessly. I’m being driven mad and I’d like it fixed. Now. Please.”

The man had stared at him with a sort of muted surprise throughout his entire rant, though his beard definitely twitched in some sort of mysterious way when Sera’s name was mentioned.

“Right,” the bearded man said after a short pause. “The shower, you say?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Dorian said with a patience he definitely didn’t feel, which might have bled over a little bit into his tone. But only a little. Possibly.

“Right,” the man said again. “Which apartment?”

“Number ten.”

The man nodded. “I’ll be right up.”

“ _Thank you_ ,” Dorian said fervently then he turned on one heel and stomped away.

****

Blackwall closed the door after watching the really unfairly attractive man flounce away then turned to face his partner, Cullen Rutherford, who was still lounging on the sofa but watching with interest.

“Who was that?” Cullen asked, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

“The new bloke in number ten,” Blackwall rumbled. “Reckon Sera’s matchmaking again.”

Cullen sighed and rubbed his forehead with one hand. “Really?” he said wanly.

Blackwall gave him a sympathetic smile. It had been nearly a year since Varric had left to go trailing after his ex, Bianca. They couldn’t blame him. He’d been upfront about the complicated relationship he had with Bianca and they’d accepted it. Despite that, they hadn’t really been ready for the sudden lack in their lives after he’d left and Sera had been slightly relentless in her efforts to find them a new man. Her choices had been… interesting, to say the least.

“He’s very pretty.”

“What did he want?” Cullen asked, ignoring that comment.

“Sera apparently implied in some way that he could find the building manager here. His shower tap’s dripping.”

Cullen groaned and rolled his eyes. “Of course she did. You’re not actually going to fix it, are you?”

Blackwall shrugged as he headed to the kitchen and rummaged under the sink, emerging with a toolbox. “You know what Solas is like. Good manager but he can be a bit slow on the repairs. And that shower’s been dripping since Hawke and his boyfriend were living there.”

Cullen grunted. While he’d liked Hawke, he hadn’t really gotten along with Hawke’s prickly boyfriend. Anders was suspicious of most people but when he’d found out that Cullen had once been in the armed forces, Anders had taken an active dislike to Cullen and had not been subtle about it.

“You should come up with me,” Blackwall said, hefting the toolbox. “I’ll need someone to hand me the tools.”

Cullen gave him a very flat look then sighed and set his book and glasses aside. “Fine.”

They went downstairs just long enough to turn the water off for apartment ten then headed upstairs and knocked on the door. When it opened, Cullen had to admit that Blackwall was right. The man really was very attractive. Even the moustache, which should have looked silly, seemed to suit him.

“I wasn’t expecting two of you,” the man said, looking a little taken aback, though Cullen couldn’t help but notice that he gave them both a good look up and down. He tried not to blush at that.

“Need someone to hand me the tools,” Blackwall said gruffly. “Name’s Blackwall. This is m’partner, Cullen.”

Neither of them could miss the slight start the man gave at the use of the word ‘partner’ or the way he looked hesitant for a moment, as though he wanted to ask what definition of the word ‘partner’ that was. But he didn’t ask, instead all he did was step aside and wave them into the apartment.

“Dorian Pavus, recently of Minrathous in Tevinter.”

“Don’t get many from Tevinter down here,” Blackwall said as Dorian lead them into the bathroom then edged aside to let them work.

“Yes, well, it wasn’t entirely my idea.”

Cullen handed the wrench to Blackwall and turned to look at Dorian. The man looked unhappy, almost miserable, and Cullen wondered what had prompted that sort of expression.

“Seems to be something of a theme for people in Skyhold,” he said blandly. “I haven’t met many people here who aren’t escaping from _something_.”

Blackwall chuckled. “Like you and me.”

Cullen smiled. “Yeah, like us.”

There was a moment of silence from Dorian then he said hesitantly, “Are you two…?”

“Together?” Blackwall grunted as he worked. “Yeah.”

“Oh.”

It was the tone of voice that got their attention. Dorian sounded like he was halfway between scared and amazed.

“Dorian? Are you alright?” Cullen asked with concern.

The man stared at him for a moment then he seemed to shake the mood off. “Yes, fine. So, can it be fixed?”

Cullen and Blackwall exchanged glances then Blackwall nodded. “Yeah, just needs a new washer.”

The job was finished in silence and then Dorian saw them to the door, thanking them as they left. Cullen and Blackwall walked down the stairs to their apartment silently and neither of them spoke until they were back in their own apartment.

“He’s very attractive,” Cullen said thoughtfully.

Blackwall grunted. “Smart too. Did you see the books?”

“Yes, I did. He’s been hurt by someone though.”

“Yeah, figured that. 

“Hear the way he reacted to finding out we were together?”

Blackwall grunted again as he collapsed on the sofa. “Yeah, guess the scuttlebutt about Tevinter might be right.”

Cullen sat down next to Blackwall then leaned into him when he wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“We should ask him to join us for the weekly trivia night,” Cullen mused. “Sera and Dagna obviously won’t mind and I doubt Cassandra, Leliana or Josephine would either.”

Blackwall chuckled. “You like him, don’t you?”

“I, well…” Cullen huffed. “He’s obviously smart. And gorgeous.” He twisted a little. “What about you?”

Blackwall leaned in and kissed him. “I think you two would look very pretty together in our bed.”

Cullen smiled and twisted around to straddle Blackwall’s legs. “I’ll ask him tomorrow.”

Blackwall nodded then there were no more words.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And after putting up that last little AU interlude, I was reminded that I actually have another little piece for that this fic. This one is a continuation of the main story and look! Varric comes back into it.

Cullen, Dorian and Thom were curled around each other, enjoying the lassitude and relaxation that came in the aftermath of sex, when the door to Cullen’s office banged open then slammed shut. Cullen groaned as he started the process of extracting himself from his lovers before he realised that no one had called his name from below and that whoever had just come in was now stomping up the stairs. And it was a good word for it. Each foot was thumping down on the step and he could swear the ladder was actually shaking a bit.

When Varric’s head appeared at the top of the ladder, Cullen could see why that was the case. The dwarf’s face was dark as a thundercloud and quite uncharacteristically he said nothing as he finished hauling himself up into the loft then paused to pull off his coat and boots and toss them into a corner.

“Budge up,” Varric said bluntly as clambered onto the bed and sprawled on top of their legs, much as he’d done that night when this had all begun.

By now, both Dorian and Thom were watching with interest and Cullen let himself collapse back against Thom.

“Well?” Dorian said, poking Varric in the shoulder with one finger. “I think after flouncing in here like that, we deserve an explanation.”

“ _Women_ ,” Varric growled.

Dorian chuckled. “Well, I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“Bianca,” Thom said with a grunt. He’d been included on that particular little trip and he hadn’t been overly impressed by the dwarven woman. She was clever, he’d give her that, but her sense of responsibility was a little lacking. And he hadn’t been terribly impressed with her treatment of Varric.

“That’s the one,” Varric said sourly.

“Lavellan told me about her,” Cullen said. He hesitated before saying anything else.

Varric snorted at the hesitation. “What did she have to say?”

“She… didn’t like her,” Cullen said slowly. “She thought Bianca was irresponsible and flighty and she didn’t like the way she acted towards you.”

Varric raised his head and eyed Cullen inscrutably. “What else? I know you, Curly. You’re holding something back.”

Cullen sighed. “Lavellan thought that Bianca needs to make her mind up and stop thinking she can have her cake and eat it too. That she either needs to commit to you or cut you free. That what she’s doing to you is cruel.”

“Well, that was blunt,” Varric grumbled and he slumped back down. They all noticed that Varric made no attempt to either refute what had been said or defend Bianca.

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, Varric, but our dear Lavellan can be very blunt when she decides it’s worth it,” Dorian said drolly.

Varric grunted and let his head drop down into the blankets. He was giving off a distinct air of disgruntlement and unhappiness.

“She’s right,” Thom said bluntly. “I met a few women like her back in the day. Maybe they’re not madly in love with their husbands but they’re happy enough in their marriage as a whole. But they want that bit extra on the side and they want it all on their terms, to hell with what you want or need.”

“That sounds familiar,” Varric grumped then he sighed. “We had some words after you lot left.”

“Oh?” Cullen said, deciding on the neutral option.

Varric grunted again. “She was angling for some advantages from the Inquisition.”

“Varric,” Dorian began but Varric cut him off before he could even begin.

“Yeah, I know. I heard what Hero there said and the comparison is uncanny. I said no to her. She wasn’t happy about it.”

“So what now?” Dorian asked.

Varric sighed and stared up at the ceiling. “No idea.” 

He raised his head to look at them and they could all see the tentative question on his face before he seemed to dismiss it with a weary sigh and flopped back down again. Dorian rolled his eyes and prodded at Varric’s shoulder again.

“Get in here. It’s terribly uncomfortable having you flopping around on our legs.”

An expression of longing flickered briefly over Varric’s face then he sighed. “I should go.”

“But you just got here,” Dorian said with amusement then he yelped when Cullen poked him in the ribs.

“Just get in here,” Thom said loudly enough to override the amused squabbling that began between Cullen and Dorian.

Varric still hesitated. “You’re all naked.”

Dorian set aside his squabble for a moment to drawl, “Well, it’s a bit hard to have sex fully clothed.”

Cullen clapped a hand over Dorian’s mouth. “You’ve always been welcome here, Varric,” He jerked his hand away from Dorian’s mouth. “Urgh. Dorian!”

“You didn’t mind me licking other parts of you not so long ago,” Dorian replied with a wicked twinkle in his eyes.

Varric had been watching the byplay with interest and a certain dawning understanding. He now turned to Thom. “Are they always like this?”

Thom frowned slightly, more at the expression on Varric’s face than his words, then he smiled. “Yeah, they are now. _We_ are.”

It didn’t have quite the reaction Thom had expected. Varric now looked even more troubled.

“Not sure how I fit in,” he admitted.

Dorian sobered. “However you want to fit in. If all you want to do is sleep on top of our legs, then that is all you need to do. If you want to just sleep with us, then that’s fine as well. If you want more, you only have to ask.”

Varric shifted around so he was propped up on his side. He looked rather melancholy. “Tried that before and look where I ended up.”

“Yes, well, do any of us look like the type to go off and marry someone else and then keep you on a string?” Dorian said dryly.

Varric chuckled. “No, not really.”

“Is it because we’re men?” Thom asked.

Varric shook his head. “No, not really. I had my moments when I was younger.” He paused and scratched his chin. “And there was that night with Hawke when he was still pining over Broody and Blondie’s ogling got too much for him.”

Cullen coughed and looked surprised. “I didn’t know that.”

Varric grinned at him. “I’m an unreliable narrator, Curly. You should know that by now.”

Cullen snorted with amusement. “Given the amount of complaining Cassandra has done, you’re right about that one.”

“You know she didn’t believe me about Flemeth turning into a dragon?” Varric complained with mock indignation. “She didn’t question me giving Bethany enormous knockers but the dragon turning into a witch was unbelievable?”

“I can’t imagine why,” Dorian said dryly.

“Back to the point,” Thom said, looking amused. “What’s the problem, Varric?”

The dwarf sobered. “I’m waiting to see what the catch is.”

“No catch,” Cullen said. He hesitated for a moment then seemed to come to some sort of decision. “Besides, it was you that Cole was talking to when all this started. It’s really alright. They want it too. That’s what he said.”

“You’ve got a good memory there, Curly,” Varric said sourly.

An odd expression flickered across Cullen’s face but he refused to allow himself to be distracted. “You wanted this as much as we did. It was… Bianca was the reason you walked away, wasn’t she?”

Varric grimaced and nodded. “Not that she’ll be a problem anymore judging by her latest letter.” He sighed. “I think I burned that bridge pretty thoroughly when I refused to tell her what kind of research Dagna was doing with red lyrium.”

Cullen shifted uncomfortably and immediately had Thom’s hand on his hip and Dorian pressing a kiss to his chin. He smiled at both of them distractedly.

“I… can’t say I’m unhappy about that,” he admitted slowly. “I’m not really very comfortable with what Dagna’s doing. I only authorised it because… well, it’s Dagna.”

Varric chuckled. “Yeah, she might come up with wild ideas but she’d never do anything to harm anyone.” His expression darkened momentarily as he recalled what Bianca had done with the information he’d given her. “Dammit.”

Dorian seemed to understand what he was thinking. “I wouldn’t lay too much blame on her shoulders, Varric, or your own. If it hadn’t been you and your brother discovering that thaig, it would have been someone else. And Corypheus seems to be something well beyond our current understanding in the way he survives the apparently unsurvivable. There are things you can plan for and anticipate and things that are simply wild cards.”

Varric gave a heavy sigh. “Doesn’t feel that way, Sparkler.” He sighed again then seemed to come to some sort of decision. “Alright, budge up, you lot. If I’m going to do this, I’m at least going to be comfortable.”

They shuffled around and reorganised themselves as Varric crawled under the covers. He found himself slotting in between Cullen and Dorian while Thom settled himself at Cullen’s back and was surprised when he almost instantly relaxed.

“Huh, okay, I can see why you like this.”

“That and the sex is truly excellent,” Dorian said into his ear loud enough to get an exasperated huff from Cullen and a laugh from Thom.

“I can’t really comment on that,” Varric replied.

“Thought you said you had some experience,” Thom rumbled.

“With dwarves,” Varric said dryly. “All my experience is with dwarves actually. Never tried anything with a human. The height difference is…”

“Intriguing,” Dorian replied, his voice liberally laced with humorous innuendo.

“Uh,” Varric began then he chuckled when Cullen reached out over him and flicked Dorian’s ear.

“We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for, Varric,” he said calmly. 

Varric smiled wryly. “This is good enough for me right now. I’ll let you know if it changes.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so you know how I wrote a Modern Thedas AU chapter back in Chapter 7 for one of my prompt request posts? Well, some people wanted a sequel or a continuation of that piece so, here it is. (And you have no idea how relieved I am to get some of my writing mojo back.)
> 
> There is background Sera/Dagna and Cassandra/Lace Harding and _possibly_ background Leliana/Josephine but those two weren't telling me the full nature of their relationship so I can't say for certain. :D

Cullen took a deep breath before knocking on the door of Dorian’s apartment. He heard a muffled curse and then a thump before the door was finally opened by the man in question. Dorian looked just a little ruffled but when he saw who was standing there, he blinked and a look of confusion settled on his face.

“Hi,” Cullen said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Um, I’m not sure if you remember me. I’m Cullen.”

“Er, yes,” Dorian said. “The building manager’s… partner.”

Cullen sighed and shook his head ruefully. “Actually Blackwall isn’t the building manager. That’s Solas in number one. But that’s not the point.”

Dorian suddenly frowned. “What?”

“Sera is…” Cullen searched for the right words. “Well, Sera is Sera. She wasn’t being mean or anything, just…” He waved a hand. “It’s a long story. Anyway, I came to see if you’d like to join us for our trivia night at the local pub.”

Dorian just stared at him for a moment as though his words hadn’t made sense. “You what?”

“I know you’ve just moved in and it seemed like you don’t really know anyone,” Cullen said, feeling more and more awkward. “And there’s a group of us who have a team at the local trivia night and I wondered if you wanted to join us.” He shuffled his feet and ducked his head. “You don’t have to. I just thought….”

“Oh, my goodness, you’re adorable.”

Cullen looked up in surprise to find Dorian staring at him with a mortified look on his face and his hand clapped over his mouth. He smirked even as he could feel the blush reddening his cheeks.

“I’ll take that as a yes then.” He stepped back. “Meet us at the Red Lion at 6pm tomorrow night. And bring your trivia brain.”

He did a quick about face and as he walked down the hall, he let his grin run free. He’d had some second thoughts about whether he’d really seen and heard what he thought he had from Dorian the previous night but that blurted comment allowed him to dismiss those second thoughts entirely. Dorian was certainly attracted to him and that was an excellent basis for seeing whether maybe there could be more.

******

“That woman is frightening,” Dorian said into Cullen’s ear, just loud enough to be heard over the noise of the crowd in the pub.

He was pressed tightly against the blond man on the bench seat with Josephine sitting next to him on the other side. Blackwall was on the other side of Cullen and across from them were Sera, Dagna, Cassandra and Cassandra’s new girlfriend, Lace Harding.

“Which one?” Cullen replied with a grin.

“All of them.”

Cullen gave his ridiculous honking laugh that made Dorian both cringe and melt a little. He’d never known anyone who laughed so openly and freely and without concern for how he looked or sounded. He was terribly envious.

“We’re winning though.”

Dorian had to concede the point there. Between the group, they had at least some knowledge on every subject that had come up and they were currently sitting eight points clear in the lead. From the reactions of the other groups, this was not uncommon. Dorian was just pleased he’d been able to contribute some answers of his own and that the women hadn’t bitten his head off. He wouldn’t put it past any of them and he was insanely curious as to how Blackwall and Cullen had ended up with such a mad group of female friends.

“Dorian!” Dagna’s cheerful voice drew his attention to the small woman who was sitting across the table from him. Dagna had been cheerful every time he’d encountered her since he’d moved in and he was beginning to suspect it was her default state. It was somewhat alarming. He’d never met anyone so relentlessly cheerful before. “I’m sorry I let Sera convince you Blackwall was our building manager.”

“Quite alright,” Dorian said with an amiable wave of his hand. “I did get my shower tap fixed so I can’t really complain.”

Dagna giggled. “Blackwall’s always been a better bet than Solas anyway. Not that Solas is a bad building manager but he’s so caught up in his research that sometimes he forgets to come out of the clouds and deal with what’s going on in the real world.”

“What kind of research does he do?”

“Something about the Fade,” Dagna replied. “I understand a lot of it but it’s all very theoretical and esoteric. I’m more of a hands on kind of girl.”

Dagna had been introduced to him as an ‘experimental engineer’, whatever that was. From her enthusiastic explanation, Dorian had gathered it was an excuse to make things go boom as much as possible. She seemed to enjoy the very idea.

Sera suddenly leaned in to join the conversation. “How’d you know all that stuff about history?”

“It’s a fascinating subject,” Dorian said, feeling a little defensive.

Sera rolled her eyes. “Boring.”

Dagna immediately nudged her in the ribs. “Not that boring. With Dorian’s answers, we won that round. We’d have come second otherwise since none of the rest of us knew them.”

Sera scrunched up her nose. “Okay, useful boring. Still boring though.”

“If you don’t understand where the mistakes were made in the past, you’ll only end up repeating them again in the future,” Dorian said, waggling his finger as he realised that Sera wasn’t trying to be insulting, she was just very, very bluntly honest.

“But what if they’re fun mistakes?” Sera said with a grin.

“Then history teaches you how to avoid getting into trouble,” Dorian replied.

Sera’s entire face scrunched up as she thought about that one then she grinned. “Nah, still boring. I’ll just keep you around and you can tell me how to get out of trouble.”

Dagna winked at him and Dorian felt something he hadn’t realised was clenched up tight inside him relax. These people liked him and had accepted him into their mad little group. He wasn’t used to that and certainly not so quickly. It made him want to figure out what the catch was but… even if some of the people at the table were good at hiding things, Dagna was not.

Before he could answer, Cassandra leaned forward and fixed him with a gimlet gaze. “Do _not_ encourage her.”

Dorian held up both hands in surrender and leaned back and a little bit into Cullen. “I would never dare, my dear Cassandra.”

Cassandra looked mollified thought there was a gleam of amusement in her eyes. “Good.”

He drew in a breath when Cullen leaned into him to peer over at Cassandra. “Please don’t scare him away.”

Sera cackled but whatever she was about to say was lost when Dagna elbowed her sharply in the side and Cassandra clapped a hand over her mouth. Sera still managed a few muffled noises before she fell silent. Cassandra waited another beat before removing her hand.

“I was expecting you to lick it,” she said dryly.

“That never work with you,” Sera pouted. “No point.”

Cassandra looked very smug and Cullen laughed practically in Dorian’s ear. It made Dorian shiver lightly then he mentally scolded himself and ordered himself to put his libido away. Cullen already _had_ a partner and Dorian had no intention of doing anything that would jeopardise that. He turned to speak to Cullen but the words died before he could even construct a sentence. Cullen was practically resting his chin on his shoulder and their faces were so close. Close enough that it wouldn’t take much movement at all for Dorian to press their lips together. 

He swallowed hard and looked into Cullen’s eyes. They were dark and intense and Dorian couldn’t… _refused_ … to read what was in them. He didn’t know how long they stayed like that before the quizmaster’s voice suddenly boomed out and they jerked apart. Dorian very carefully looked down at his glass of red wine and missed the smirks on the faces of everyone except Cullen and Blackwall. Had he looked at _them_ , he have seen the small satisfied smiles they exchanged before they all turned their attention back to the game of trivia.

Dorian was tense for several minutes before he realised that either everyone had missed what had happened or they were _really_ good at pretending they hadn’t seen it. When nothing was said or done, he slowly began to relax but he couldn’t help the feeling of confusion that was growing within him. Cullen was with Blackwall. He knew that. They’d told him themselves. So why had Cullen been making a move on him? He’d like to play denial but that… he couldn’t deny what had almost happened.

He snuck a glance past Cullen and was startled when Blackwall seemed to be waiting for that. The older man met his eyes and smirked before jerking his head slightly towards the apparently oblivious Cullen, who was debating with Dagna about the answer to one of the questions on their worksheet. Dorian frowned with confusion at Blackwall and the man’s lips quirked in a smile before he deliberately turned his attention to the worksheet as well. Now Dorian was doubly confused. Not only did it seem that Cullen had been flirting with him, Blackwall knew and seemed to approve.

Thankfully, for the sake of his sanity, he was quickly drawn into the debate over answers and he purposefully lost himself in the ebb and flow of the remaining rounds of the trivia quiz. He was conscious of Cullen pressed warmly against his side, every movement the man made sending a jolt of _something_ through him. He could have moved away, perhaps _should_ have moved away, but he didn’t. As confusing as the situation was, he liked the feel of Cullen’s solid bulk against him. Which made him feel like a very bad man but given how tightly Josephine was pressed against his other side, it wasn’t as though he had many options to move away.

Finally the trivia night came to an end with their group victorious. The prize wasn’t anything glamorous, though a $100 bar tab wasn’t anything to sneeze at either, and they made arrangements to meet the next week for trivia again – and to drink their winnings, which was apparently what the others had been doing that night. Which explained why they’d all refused to allow Dorian to buy any drinks.

They bid goodnight to Cassandra, Lace, Leliana and Josephine then the rest of them began the slow meandering walk back to their apartment building. Sera and Dagna quickly outpaced them, arm in arm, their heads together as they talked and occasionally giggled.

“Should we be concerned about that?” Dorian asked, pointing at the pair of women.

“Nah, they usually don’t prank inside the building,” Cullen said, coming up on one side of him.

“Not after Solas read them the riot act last time,” Blackwall rumbled as he took up a position on Dorian’s other side. “Sera usually ignores him but he threatened to call her landlord so she’s decided to be a bit more circumspect.”

Dorian felt like he should say something about that but he had Cullen walking close beside him on one side and Blackwall on the other and all that warm, muscular bulk was terribly distracting. They weren’t quite touching him but as they walked, he felt the brush of their arms against his.

“So what did you think of the trivia night?” Cullen asked, breaking into his increasingly rabbity thoughts.

“Uh,” he said as he pulled himself into some semblance of together. “You win a lot, I presume.”

Both men laughed. “That we do,” Blackwall replied with smug satisfaction.

“Not all the time,” Cullen added.

“Just most of the time,” Blackwall finished.

Dorian laughed. “I’m not sure how much use I was.”

“We won at least one round because of you,” Blackwall replied, nudging him with his shoulder.

“And you knew the answer to the bonus question that got us those extra ten points,” Cullen added, his hand brushing momentarily against the small of Dorian’s back.

Dorian suddenly pulled away and turned to face them both, all three of them coming to a halt in the middle of the footpath. Sera and Dagna’s cheerful voices could be heard in the distance, getting fainter.

“What in the Maker’s name is going on?” Dorian demanded, feeling unsettled and uncertain and not liking it one bit.

Cullen rubbed the back of his neck and flicked a rueful glance at Blackwall. The older man just chuckled and patted Cullen on the shoulder.

“We’re making a rather ham-fisted attempt at flirting with you,” Blackwall said, looking amused.

Dorian spluttered for a moment. “But… you’re together!”

“Yes,” Cullen said slowly.

“It’s called polyamory,” Blackwall added bluntly. “We like you.”

Dorian spluttered a bit more and Cullen gave Blackwall a resigned look.

“I told you we were going at this too fast. This isn’t like it was with Varric. Dorian’s from Tevinter and you’ve heard the stories about that place and its archaic attitudes as well as I have.”

Blackwall shrugged. “Maybe. But if we weren’t at least a little bit upfront, he was going to tie himself up in knots about what was happening. Now he knows.”

“And he is standing right here, thank you very much,” Dorian snapped, sounding very affronted.

Both men looked rather abashed and Cullen reached out with one hand. He hesitated when Dorian flinched a little but when the man didn’t move away, Cullen continued and placed his hand on Dorian’s shoulder.

“We like you,” he said softly, earnestly. “And we’d like the chance to… to court you, as it were. But if this…” He gestured to himself and Blackwall with his free hand. “Isn’t what you want, you only have to say so. We’ll back off and nothing more will happen.”

Dorian gaped at him, his mind running at high speed. “Men don’t… court other men,” he protested, his voice a little more high-pitched than normal.

“Yes, they do,” Blackwall rumbled. “If that’s what they want to do.”

“This isn’t Tevinter,” Cullen said, still in that soft, earnest tone. “There’s no… stigma or scandal about men being together.”

Dorian gaped at them again, probably for a fraction too long if the sad expression that was growing on Cullen’s face was any indication. Still, it was only when the man moved to withdraw his hand that Dorian broke out of his surprise.

“No!” he yelped as he grabbed at Cullen’s hand to keep it where it was. Then he realised what that might sound like. “I mean, yes.” He could feel the warmth in his cheeks… indeed across his whole face. “Yes, I’d like to be… courted. Yes, I… I want to… to see where this goes. I want…” He sighed. “I’m not sure.”

Cullen’s smile was like a warm sunrise and Dorian made a small eeping noise when the man stepped in close, his hand sliding from Dorian’s shoulder to cup his cheek.

“Let’s find out,” Cullen said warmly. 

He then closed the gap between them, slowly so that Dorian could back out any time he wanted. He didn’t though, instead he met the man halfway and found himself being kissed like he never had been before. It was soft and gentle but with a hint of passion underneath and it ended with a delightful little tease of teeth on his bottom lip. When they parted, Dorian knew he must look a little dazed but since Cullen did as well, he found he didn't mind that much.

Then Blackwall was right there at his side and the older man’s larger, work-roughened hand was turning his head. This kiss was… solider, more sure and steady, a kiss from a man who knew what he wanted and took it. Dorian actually whimpered into the kiss and his knees went a little weak. He heard Cullen’s low chuckle in his ear before the man wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him.

When the kiss ended, Dorian felt almost shattered by the experience. It was unlike anything he’d had before. In the past, kissing had been a means to an end and had almost universally been hard and wanting and easily discarded in favour of the empty, meaningless sex. He got the distinct impression from the surprisingly chaste nature of these kisses that for Cullen and Blackwall, kissing wasn’t a means to an end but was an end all of itself. The sex was additional.

“I think we broke him,” Blackwall said, his voice a little hoarse but full of humour.

Dorian drew himself back together to find Blackwall and Cullen smirking at him. “You did not! And that was unfair, I had no chance to…”

He was interrupted by a kiss from Cullen and he pretended to glare at the man. Cullen looked remarkable unrepentant.

“You can have whatever chances you want to do whatever you want,” he said with a happy smile that Dorian wanted to see a lot of.

A sudden sharp wolf whistle made them all start and turn. Sera and Dagna were leaning against a fence a short way down the street, grinning at them.

“Told ya, Cully-Wully!” Sera bellowed then the two women grabbed each other’s hands and scampered towards the apartment building.

Dorian watched them go then turned to look at Cullen. He was looking a little bashful and Dorian couldn’t help but laugh.

“So that’s why she sent me to the pair of you,” he said. “She was matchmaking.”

Cullen blushed beautifully and Blackwall heaved a sigh. “That she was.” He threw an arm around the two men and gave them a gentle push towards the apartment building. “Maybe someday we’ll thank her for it too.”

As they started walking again, Dorian hoped that would be true.


End file.
